The Prado Museum

"In the first part of the book the author outlines the history of the museum, paying special attention to its chief patrons and promoters who, in addition to having shaped, over the centuries, one of the most important art galleries of the world, gradually adapted Villanueva's original building to the new museographical requirements. In this sense, the latest enlargement designed by Rafael Moneo, documented in these pages, represents one of the most outstanding episodes." "Generously illustrated, this volume reproduces and analyses 282 works - stemming from the Spanish, Italian, Flemish, Dutch, German, French and English schools - in the Prado collections, among which mention should be made of Brueghel's The Triumph of Death, Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Delights, Rubens' The Three Graces and The Garden of Love, Mantegna's Death of the Virgin, several creations by Titian, II Veronese's The Finding of Moses, Raphael's The Madonna of the Fish, and Tiepolo's Olympus. Special consideration is also awarded to the great Spanish masters, such as El Greco, Velazquez, Murillo and Goya, a number of whose works are also reproduced, and to paintings by dozens of European masters, which explains why the Prado is considered "the museum for museum lovers"."--BOOK JACKET.