The Casón, together with the church of the Jerónimos and the Army Museum, is one of the three surviving elements from the Palacio del Buen Retiro in Madrid, built by Philip IV in the 1630s. The project for the Casón was undertaken by the architect Alonso Carbonel, who had submitted his instructions for its construction in 1637.

In the present day, the building is completely masked by the alterations undertaken during the last third of the 19th century, including its two main facades, which were designed at this period by the architects Mariano Carderera and Ricardo Velázquez Bosco.

The building has been used for a variety of different functions over the course of its history:

1834-1877 Cámara del Estamento de Próceres (the forerunner of the modern Senate)
1877-1960 Museo de Reproducciones Artísticas
1960-1971 Temporary exhibition space of the State Office of Fine Arts
1971-1997 Transferred to the management of the Museo del Prado for the exhibition of its 19th-century collections, formerly in the Museo de Arte Moderno
1997-2006 Work carried out to restore the ceiling and enlarge the interior spaces
2007 The Casón re-opened to house the future Study Centre of the Museum del Prado. It will also house its Curatorial departments and the Museum’s Library.