My Madrid Museum Tour – Museo del Prado

Written by Amitai Sasson on September 3, 2009

For anyone who has had the privilege of traveling to Madrid, Spain, art lovers or not, you will all agree that a visit to the Madridian museums are an absolute must.



velazques statue outside of the prado museum



I ventured to Madrid last week and aside from the unbarring August heat and my horrible Spanish skills, it was an amazing 5 days…



When in Madrid, I stayed on Gran Via, at the heart of the old city of Madrid. The buildings and cathedrals that surround you on every corner are breathtaking and the food and people complete a scenery filled with style, culture and tradition.



The focal point of Madrid’s artistic history can be found at the Museo del Prado – which is a monument of artistic impressions from the 12th century up to the 17th century. Aside from many paintings of Guya and Velazques, you can find some works by Rafael, Rembrandt, Adams and many more.



a photo i took in side the prado museum before the security guards could notice...



Frankly, the Prado in my eyes was a disappointment. Yes, these artists were geniuses of there times and the art is absolutely amazing. However, most of the paintings at the Prado show religious themes or aristocratic portraits of the many European genealogies of the time.



Personally I like to stare at art that someone actually thought about and has hidden meanings in his creations. I am not a big fan of Realism and would prefer more modern works like Monet, Van Gogh and Cezanne, not to mention Rothko and Picasso.



Another upsetting point about visiting the Prado is their bizarre refusal to allow the visitors to take photos of the paintings… in all the museums in New York, Paris and London that I have visited the flash was always off, but I could at least take photos of the art.



Off course that did not stop me from taking a few pictures from inside the Prado… I wish I could have shown you more, but security noticed I took a few pics and requested me to stop.



To sum, I think that the Prado is great if you are into Realism of the fifteenth and sixteenth century. If you are more of an art connoisseur and would like to enjoy brilliant thought provoking artistic creations, head out to see the Guernica at the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia next door.


Amitai Sasson

About the Author: Amitai Sasson

Amitai Sasson, of overstockArt.com is a renowned world traveler on a mission to seek out the beauty and passion of the art world. As an avid enthusiast of art and oil paintings, he contributes greatly to the industry with his writing.

See all posts by Amitai Sasson


blog comments powered by Disqus
brought to you by overstockArt.com
RSS Facebook YouTube Twitter
Join the Artist Become community today!
Claude Monet Oil Paintings Vincent Van Gogh Paintings Gustav Klimt Oil Paintings Pablo Picasso Oil Paintings
OverstockArt Oil Paintings on Facebook


My Art Gallery Facebook App