November 20, 2019

Yesterday, on November 19, the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, marked the 200th anniversary of its founding in 1819. Originally called the Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures, the museum later became the Museo Nacional del Prado (National Museum of the Prado), and grew into one of the world’s most celebrated art museums. The word prado means meadow in Spanish. Both the museum and Madrid’s Paseo del Prado boulevard are built on land that was once a meadow. The museum’s exhibits of Spanish paintings include many works by El Greco and Francisco Goya. The museum also displays paintings by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez, including his masterpiece Las Meninas.

The Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, opened 200 years ago in November 1819. Credit: © Anibal Trejo, Shutterstock

To mark the Prado’s 200th anniversary, the museum ran a special exhibition called “A Place of Memory” in the first 10 months of 2019. The exhibition showed how the museum changed but survived the often turbulent events of Spanish history, including the fall of Spain’s colonial empire, the Spanish Civil War, the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and the country’s ultimate transition to democracy. The traveling exhibit “De gira por España” (On Tour in Spain) took many of the Prado’s precious works to museums throughout the country as part of the bicentenary celebration in 2019. At the same time, the exhibition “El Prado en las calles” (The Prado in the Streets) displayed the museum’s works in public spaces in the Philippines and in several cities in the Americas.

Las Meninas, a portrait of the Spanish royal family by Diego Velázquez, is one of the Prado’s most famous works. The artist united real and pictorial space by having the young princess look casually out of the composition, presumably toward her parents, who stand in the same position as the viewer. The painter shown at left is Velázquez himself. Credit: The Prado, Madrid, Spain (Erich Lessing, Art Resource)

Construction on the building that houses the Prado began in 1785. It was originally a museum of natural sciences. King Ferdinand VII of Spain converted it into the Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures. The museum’s initial collection contained more than 300 works by Spanish artists. The museum has been known as the Prado since 1868. The Prado’s collection has grown in size and variety over time, particularly after taking in works from the closure of two other museums—the Museo de la Trinidad, in 1872, and the Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art), in 1971. Extensions and renovations have greatly expanded and improved the Prado Museum’s space.

The Prado’s collection centers on European masterworks of the 1500’s through the 1800’s, but it also includes many ancient and modern works. In addition to paintings, the collection includes decorative arts, drawings, photographs, prints, and sculptures, as well as a large archive and library. Together with the nearby Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums, the Prado forms Madrid’s “Golden Triangle of Art.”

June 7, 2019

In 2019, the 350th anniversary of the death of the Dutch artist Rembrandt is being celebrated as the “Year of Rembrandt” at the famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the capital and largest city of the Netherlands. Rembrandt is often considered the greatest Dutch artist in history. Rembrandt’s output of works of art was tremendous. Some scholars credit him with about 600 paintings, 300 etchings, and 1,400 drawings. Rembrandt was born on July 15, 1606. He died on Oct. 4, 1669.

Rembrandt’s self-portraits form a vivid record of his life. The portrait at left was completed in 1629. The portrait at right was finished in 1669, the year Rembrandt died. Credit: Self-Portrait with Gorget (1629), oil on oak panel by Rembrandt; Germanisches Nationalmuseum; Self-portrait (1669), oil on canvas by Rembrandt; Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis

The Rijksmuseum, which bills itself as the “museum of Rembrandt,” began the 350th anniversary of the artist’s death with “All the Rembrandts,” an exhibition of all the artist’s 22 paintings, 60 drawings, and more than 300 prints in the museum’s collection. The exhibition started February 15 and runs through June 10. Beginning in July, people will be able to watch (in person at the museum and online) the careful restoration of Rembrandt’s massive The Night Watch, his most famous work. Painted in 1642, The Night Watch has been the centerpiece of the Rijksmuseum’s collection since 1808.

On Oct. 11, 2019, the “Year of Rembrandt” will wrap up with “Rembrandt-Velázquez,” an exhibition (in association with the Prado Museum in Spain) that includes works by the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez (1599-1660). The two artists were Baroque contemporaries, and their works are often seen as complementary. (The Netherlands was part of the Kingdom of Spain from 1516 to 1648, and the Dutch struggle for independence took place during the lifetimes of Rembrandt and Velázquez.)

Rembrandt’s The Night Watch is one of 22 paintings included in the Rijksmuseum’s “Year of Rembrandt” celebration in 2019. Credit: Night Watch (1642), oil on canvas by Rembrandt; Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam)

Rembrandt was born in Leiden on July 15, 1606. His full name was Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Rembrandt first studied art with an obscure Leiden painter from about 1621 to 1624. He then studied with the Dutch artist Pieter Lastman. About 1632, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, where he painted portraits of wealthy middle-class patrons. He remained there for the rest of his life, except for a few short trips within the Netherlands.

Christ at Emmaus (1648), also called Supper at Emmaus, is one of many works that Rembrandt created about the life of Jesus Christ. In this painting, Rembrandt portrays the resurrected Jesus revealing himself to two disciples seated at supper while a servant brings them food. The supper was held in the village of Emmaus, near Jerusalem, three days after Christ’s Crucifixion. Credit: © Peter Willi, SuperStock

The range of Rembrandt’s subjects is extraordinary. His works depict stories inspired by the Bible, history, and mythology. He also painted portraits, landscapes, nudes, and scenes of everyday life. Throughout his career, Rembrandt also made about 100 known self-portraits, in which he portrayed himself in various roles and contexts.

Rembrandt’s reputation rests on his power as a storyteller, his warm sympathy, and his ability to show the innermost feelings of the people he portrayed. His use of light and shadow and warm colors creates an atmosphere that enables us to share his profound understanding of the individual’s inner life. Few artists match his genius for showing the human aspect of Biblical characters, which he conveys through moving facial expressions and gestures.