Calling all art lovers.

Located in the center Madrid sits one of the most prestigious art museums in the world, Museo Nacional del Prado. Inside this museum, there are paintings dating back from Bosch to Velazquez. It was built in 1785 by Juan de Villanueva, direct orders from King Charles the III. Most of these collections are dating back to 16-17th Century monarchs taste of paintings.

King Ferdinand VII was urged by his wife, Queen Maria Isabel de Braganza, to open this collection to the public. The first opening of the museum was in November of 1819. At the time it had 1,510 paintings from the Royal Families Residences. This collection held all the important paintings people from all over the world come to enjoy. Some of these paintings are The Garden of Earthly Delights and The Family of Carlos IV. Since these collections are from a generation of the Spanish monarchy there are some paintings of eras that are missing. The Spanish monarchy would put paintings that interested them in their collections. The main goal of the museum was to show not only the monarchs collections but also to prove to the rest of Europe that Spain's artwork was not to be belittled.

The critical point of this museum houses paintings collected during the Bourbon and Habsburg monarchies. The monarchs took pride in what they attained, which is why they collected valuable pieces of art. Many famous artists are featured in their collections such as El Greco. The most famous artists held there is Diego Velazquez. He is known for one of his most famous paintings called Las Meninas.

Museo del Prado is the only museum who holds the original painting of Las Meninas. This painting is one of the most famous in the entire world (whether you're an art junkie or not). Las Meninas in the Prado is like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, very very important paintings. In the painting, you see a variety of people: a princess, lady in waitings, the king and queen, and even Velazquez himself. Many scholars have tried to decipher the meaning of this painting but still stay puzzled.

In the center of the painting stands the princess, Doña Margarita Maria of Austria. She is the daughter of King Philip IV and his wife Marina, in the picture she appears to be of a young age. On each side of the princess, you can see a lady in waitings which usually help the princess in her day-to-day routine. On the left, Doña María Agustina Sarmiento is holding a jug and a silver dish for the princess, and on the other side, Doña Isabel de Velasco is curtsying. Then on the far right are two people who live in the royal household, the dwarf (Mariabárbola) and the court jester (Nicholás Pertusato). These are a few of the important characters in the picture that most scholars are not discovering their identities.

Your visit to El Prado will make you enjoy art and you will see many masterpieces.