In 2025, the Prado Museum will dedicate monographic exhibitions to three of its “great authors”: El Greco and Pablo Veronese in the first half of the year, already Anton Rafael Mengs in the second; and will look again at American art with the exhibition ‘So far, so close. Guadalupe of Mexico in Spain’, without forgetting contemporary sculpture.
This was stated this Thursday at a press conference by the director of the Prado Museum, Miguel Falomir, who has stated that the institution follows “continuity” in its commitment to “make women artists visible, by looking at American art and contemporary art”.
“We want to remember in 2025 that the Prado Museum is that great museum of the great names of Western art, that is why we make thisa safe bet on El Greco, Veronese and Mengs“he stated.
The director of the Prado has recalled that it is a “public and national” museum, so it has to have a place “for all types of demonstrations“, but having clear lines of action.
The season will begin on February 18 with the exhibition ‘El Greco. Santo Domingo el Antiguo’, which will collect some 70 pieces painted between 1577 and 1579 for the Monastery of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo. The exhibition, which can be visited until June 15, 2025, has curator Leticia Ruiz, head of the Department of Spanish Renaissance Painting and former director of the Gallery of the Royal Collections.
“All the paintings will come, except the one in the Hermitage because the European Union has decided not to have contact with Russia, as long as the invasion of Ukraine continues, a kind of Cultural Embargo,” Falomir explained.
Later, on May 27, it will be Pablo Veroneses’ turn, with an exhibition of about 120 pieces that focuses on several axes, the creative process and the management of his workshop. “The idea is to draw attention to one of the most influential painters of Western painting”the director has highlighted.
Finally, the last major exhibition of 2025 will be ‘Anton Raphael Mengs. The greatest painter of the 18th century, which will be presented on November 25 until March 1, 2026. “It is a name that is familiar to all of us, but not all of us put a face to his achievements. He was one of the most influential painters of the entire 18th century, and protagonist of a true revolution in the aesthetic order, a revolution that was absolutely decisive and important,” he commented.
THE ROLE OF AMERICA AND WOMEN
These bets will be reinforced withn ‘So far, so close. Guadalupe of Mexico in Spain’which will show the impact and presence of the iconography of the Virgin of Guadalupe in art on both shores of the Atlantic. The exhibition will be curated by two Mexican art historians.
“We are facing a phenomenon that quickly transcended what was the Mexican reality. It is a devotional image of great importance, but it also allows us to address many other issues related to identity, related to race. It was found by an Indian and is the first American Marian devotion that is officially recognized,” Falomir detailed.
“He was the figure around which the Creoles gathered and who led to the independence of Mexico. From there it became a phenomenon, since thousands of images of Guadalupe arrived in Spain,” he added.
In addition, the Prado will host a project around the work of the sculptor Juan Muñoz, which will delve into the artist’s relationship with the art of the past. “We are not a contemporary art museum, but we cannot forget these artists,” said Falomir.
On the other hand, the role of women in the art gallery will be reinforced with the third edition of ‘The Prado in feminine’, dedicated to the 18th century. The gallery will delve into the legacy of prominent artistic promoters who in the 18th century played an important role in the formation of the Prado Museum’s collections.
This route will be framed between the figures of Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy y Maria Luisa of Parmaand its protagonist is Queen Isabel de Farnese. In addition, the work of women in art will be praised through cycles of conferences from the Study Center, which will address figures such as María Zambrano, Rosa Chacel o Emilia Pardo Bazán, among others.
EXPANSION WORKS
Likewise, the initiative will take place ‘Write the Prado‘, which will feature the participation of Helen Oyeyemi, a prominent British writer known for her lyrical prose and experimental approach, and Mathias Énard, a French writer who won the prestigious Goncourt Prize with ‘Compass’.
These activities are completed with the Pérez-Llorca Conference that will be given Robert Lane Fox, British historian, academic and writer, specialized in the history of classical antiquity; and the Prado Chair directed by Astrid Schmidt-Bukhardt, German art historian and academic, recognized for her research on genealogical diagrams and their relationship with art history.
Finally, Falomir has referred to the museum expansion workswhich hopes that by the end of 2026 they will be ready with the idea of opening their doors by 2027. “The works are progressing overcoming problems, but they are not economic, nor are they due to a shortage of materials. H“We must keep in mind that the work being done occurs in an emblematic space in Madrid, where vestiges of the past appear that were not foreseen.”he explained.