12 must-see masterpieces at the Prado Museum
Quick answer
The Prado's must-see works are Velázquez's Las Meninas, Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights, Goya's The Third of May 1808 and Saturn, Van der Weyden's Descent from the Cross, Rubens' The Three Graces, Titian's Charles V at Mühlberg and El Greco's Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest.
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The 12 key works, room by room
- 1
Room 12
Las Meninas — Diego Velázquez (1656)
The most studied painting in Western art: a game of gazes between the Infanta Margarita, her maids, the painter and the royals reflected in the mirror.
- 2
Room 15A
The Spinners — Diego Velázquez (c. 1657)
A workshop scene hides the myth of Arachne. The spinning wheel in motion is a feat of loose brushwork.
- 3
Room 56A
The Garden of Earthly Delights — Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1490–1500)
A triptych on sin and its consequences, full of impossible creatures. Closed, it shows the creation of the world in grisaille.
- 4
Room 64
The Third of May 1808 — Francisco de Goya (1814)
The executions at Príncipe Pío hill. The lantern's light falls on the victim in white, turned into a secular martyr.
- 5
Room 67
Saturn Devouring His Son — Francisco de Goya (1819–1823)
The most brutal of the Black Paintings, painted on the dining-room wall of Goya's house.
- 6
Room 32
The Family of Charles IV — Francisco de Goya (1800)
A group portrait of the court with Goya painting himself in the background. Queen María Luisa takes centre stage.
- 7
Room 58
The Descent from the Cross — Rogier van der Weyden (before 1443)
Ten near life-size figures with a realism in tears and fabrics that amazed his contemporaries.
- 8
Room 29
The Three Graces — Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1635)
A personal work Rubens kept for himself; the Grace on the left is often linked to his second wife, Helena Fourment.
- 9
Room 27
Charles V at Mühlberg — Titian (1548)
The model equestrian portrait of power for all later court painting, Velázquez included.
- 10
Room 9B
The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest — El Greco (c. 1580)
A sober, penetrating portrait that became a symbol of Spanish chivalry.
- 11
Room 55B
Adam and Eve — Albrecht Dürer (1507)
Two panels with the first life-size nudes of the German Renaissance.
- 12
Room 56B
The Annunciation — Fra Angelico (c. 1425–1426)
Gold, lapis-lazuli blue and early perspective: the Gothic opening up to the Renaissance.
How to see them all in one visit
Seven of the twelve are on floor 0 or close to the stairs. Start with the main-floor works (Velázquez, Goya, Titian, Rubens, El Greco) and then go down. Our 2-hour route follows the exact order. If a room is closed, the day's floor plan shows where each work has moved.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Las Meninas in the Prado?
In room 12 on the main floor of the Villanueva building, at the heart of the Velázquez galleries.
Where is The Garden of Earthly Delights?
In room 56A on floor 0, with other works by Bosch.
Where are Goya's Black Paintings?
In room 67 on floor 0. The Second and Third of May hang nearby in room 64.
Does the Prado have Picasso?
Not permanently: Guernica and 20th-century art are at the Reina Sofía Museum, a 10-minute walk away.