The Madrid museum series - Prado museum

I have visited the famous Prado museum twice. The first time was in 2016 on my visit to Madrid - I wasn’t very impressed with it at that time. I visited again in 2020 when due to Covid, the accessible parts of the museum had been reduced and they had on a special exhibition with limited number of paintings. All the paintings available to view were in one huge hall and its connected rooms, with no photography allowed. I mostly covered the renaissance period and the one before it. I am sharing here some of the paintings that made my head turn.

I liked the Cavarozzis, especially the “Holy family with Saint Catherine”. The light on the faces of the people in the painting is just so captivating, you can’t not look at them and be enthralled. And the second one I liked was ‘Sisyphus’ by Titian. The way his body has been shown, showcases his struggle with the unending physical work day after day, in a manner like no other.

In the ’The Virgin and the Child’ by Trevisani, the sleeping child looks so serene and childlike. As if you could just touch the child. And it felt very calming to look at. And the child in 'The Virgin and Child with Saints' by Cignaroli has the same quality, though the rest of the painting did not feel as realistic.

One entire room was dedicated to Velázquez’s paintings. To be honest, I didn’t like most of the works in that room as many of them were portraits, and they are not my thing. Of those, I liked 'Vulcan Forge' , the painting has an attractive quality to it which makes you stop and look at it. The dynamism of the painting is just magnetic. I also liked ‘View of the Gardens of the Villa Medici', which felt almost impressionistic and lighter than the rest.

Velázquez had three religious paintings in another room which I liked. ‘The crucified Christ’, and ‘The Coronation of the Virgin’. These were very different from his portraits, and felt more real.

One painting I found fascinating was ‘Archduke Leopold William in His Picture Gallery in Brussels’ by David Teniers. The idea of a person standing amid their own painting collection was quite something. And the effort that must have gone in making the miniature paintings resemble the original is also impressive. It was also fun to try to identify the paintings in the painting.

Maino had two works that I absolutely loved ‘The Adoration of the Shepherds’ and ‘The Adoration of the Magi’. Both were painted at a grand scale and their magnificence was definitely something to remember. Also both the paintings felt so lifelike, depicting the painter's skills.

There were three rooms dedicated to Rubens, the 17th-century Flemish artist. He is a favourite of mine anyways, and as usual I liked many of his paintings. He had a huge ‘Adoration of the Magi' (there are always many of these in any European museum, and there were four in Prado!), which I absolutely loved. I also liked his portraits of old men and his Christian-themed paintings. They are all so grand, so lifelike and so soft. Apparently the Prado has around 90 of his paintings, as he was a favourite of King Philip IV (and no wonder we didn’t find many paintings at his home in Antwerp, at Rubens’ House).

Next up there was a room dedicated to Murillo. ’The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables' was one of my favourites, I loved it! There was so much softness in the painting, and it was so grand, how can anyone not be affected by it?. ’The Holy Family with a Bird' was another highlight, especially the way the light falls on the child’s face. It was just so alluring. And how can anyone seeing this painting not know who the child is?

The later sections showcased some 19th century works but not a lot. There were a few rooms of Goya’s paintings, but honestly, I wasn’t impressed. At all. His work just didn’t resonate with me. One painting that did stand out from this period was Martín Rico’s ’La Torre de las Damas in the Alhambra'. The brushstrokes were very dynamic, and the view felt so lively, so fresh. It’s a painting I wouldn’t mind having at home.

I also saw a pattern in my favourites, looks like I like grand paintings, especially the ones with well defined people. Overall, I liked some paintings in the museum but wasn’t awed by them. The Thyssen had been a lot more impressive. And the day reminded me again that you don’t need to like everything, sometimes you may just like a few. And that’s ok.