The Prado Museum's 6 Most Iconic Paintings

Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas, 1656. Oil on Canvas. 125.2 × 108.7 in. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Las Meninas, painted by Diego Velázquez—a leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age—is one of the greatest paintings of all time. Incorporated into the most basic art historical curriculums, this painting is considered by most to mark a pivotal moment in art history. The artist’s storytelling engages the viewer to a hitherto unusual degree as it intelligently reverses the typical setup of a portrait painting. Velázquez himself is shown to the left, painting a canvas and although King Philip IV and Mariana of Austria are the painted artist’s subjects, the true subjects of this artwork are Velázquez, the young Infanta Margaret Theresa, and her courtiers. And yet, the King and Queen consort are still technically centered as their reflection emanates from the center of the far wall.

Francisco Goya, The Third of May, 1814. Oil on canvas. 106 x 137 in. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

The Third of May by Francisco Goya was commissioned by the Spanish Government and depicts the execution of Spanish civilians by Nepolionic troops which led to the Peninsular War. The Painting marks a significant turning point in Goya’s subject matter—which was largely gruesome and civically-minded in this period.

The painting remains so iconic and masterfully representative of the destruction and dehumanization that accompanies war, that several artists—including Manet and Picasso— have adopted the composition through the decades to depict bloodshed contemporary to their own lives.

Francisco Goya, La maja desnuda, c. 1795 - 1800. Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Goya actually painted two versions of this artwork—one nude and one clothed, entitled La maja desnuda and La maja vestida respectively. Created in relative secrecy during the Spanish Inquisition, scholars remain uncertain of the woman’s identity and Goya’s reason for creating the artworks. Aside from the woman’s nudity, her direct and shameless gaze was quite revolutionary for the time. Both paintings were discovered and seized in 1808. They had been hanging in a private room designated for nude artwork.

Hieronymus Bosch, central panel of The Garden of Earthly Delights. Oil on oak panels. 81 × 152 in. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

The Garden of Earthly Delights is highly representative of Hieronymus Bosch’s style—chaotic, obscure, and detailed. Though the colors of this triptych are largely bright and positive, the panels are filled with images of debauchery and torture. Bosch was born and died in the Netherlands but King Phillip II of Spain was one of his key patrons. Thus, much of his work is held in Spain and at the Prado in particular. Of the less than twenty-five extant Bosch paintings, the Prado owns five.

Francisco Goya, Saturn Devouring his Son, 1819- 1823. Oil Mural transferred to canvas. 56 x 32 in. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Saturn Devouring His Son is one of Goya’s fourteen Black Paintings. Created after the artist lost his hearing and had become depressed, this is perhaps the most notable of the series which he created for himself and never intended to display publicly. In fact, this was one of six works painted on the walls of the artist's own dining room.

El Greco, The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest, 1580. Oil on Canvas. 32.2 x 25.9 in. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Though the identity of the individual depicted in The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest is unknown, the painting itself is renowned. El Greco was a master of conveying expression and emotion through his subjects' bodies, especially via hands. The nobleman’s hand is so recognizable that the Prado sells black t-shirts printed with nothing more than the hand and its frilly cuff.