Another Collection: the Frames of the Museo Nacional del Prado

The Museo del Prado boasts a large collection of diverse frames representing different techniques and artistic styles, with around 8,000 pieces embracing the history of art from the 13th to the 20th century. The origins are linked to the history of the museum collections, primarily the early accessions from the Royal Collection, as well as to legacies, donations and later acquisitions.

This itinerary takes the visitor on a chronological tour of the museum’s frame collection and the history of frames, highlighting a carefully chosen and representative selection of pieces with examples from the Middle Ages, when frame and painting were an all-in-one object, the 16th century, when the frame was separated from the painting and became a work in its own right, the splendor of the Baroque and Neoclassical movements, when the Royal Collections were unified in series, and the diversity of materials and models of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The frame itself has both historical and artistic value and is an important and constituent element of the work it circumscribes. It is essential to understand all of its qualities if we are to understand the relation between frame and painting. The primary function is as a structural and protective element that is vital for protecting the painting. The aesthetic function is related to the technique used, providing volume, color and light. We should also consider the decorative elements of the frame, which are generally associated with the style of the painting it accompanies, and which may occasionally expand on or mirror the theme of the painting itself. All of these aspects contribute to a more enriching whole, where the frame becomes a nexus or a link that insinuates the viewer into the world created by the artist.

Yet as we visit a museum, we scarcely notice its presence. This itinerary has been designed to draw attention to the importance of the frame as an object of art, offering the visitor a world full of content in order to view the work in its totality.

A new page on the museum frame collection has been included on the museum website . Where we can find more detailed information on the pieces on display, as well as on other aspects related to the frame.

Plan Floor 0

Frames of the 13th-16th century. Floor 0

• Guils Frontal, Anonymous. Room 51C
• Altarpiece of the Lives of the Virgin and Saint Francis, Anonymous. Room 50
• Saint Dominic of Silos Enthroned as a Bishop, Anonymous. Room 51A
• Triptych with Episodes from the Life of Christ, Anonymous. Room 57
• The Adoration of the Magi Triptych, Anonymous. Room 56A
• Don Francisco Fernández de Córdoba y Mendoza, Anonymous. Room 57
• The Visitation, Anonymous. Room 50
• The Descent from the Cross, Anonymous. Room 49

Frames of the 19th century. Floor 0

• The Painter Francisco de Goya, Anonymous. Room 62A
• The Contemporary Poets. A Reading by Zorrilla in the Painter’s Studio, Anonymous. Room 61
• The Madness of Joanna of Castile, Anonymous. Room 61B
• Josefa Manzanedo e Intentas de Mitjans, 2nd Marchioness of Manzanedo, Maison Guéret Frères. Room 62B
• Maria Christina of Austria, Henri-Alphonse Nelson. Room 62B
• The Slave Girl, designed attributed to Antonio María Fabrés. Room 61A
• Workers on Strike in Vizcaya, designed to Vicente Cutanda. Room 61A

Plan First Floor

Frames of the 17th to early-19th century. Floor 1

• David with the Head of Goliath, Anonymous. Room 6*
• Fable, Anonymous. Room 8B
• The Preaching of Saint John the Baptist in the Desert, Royal Workshops. Room 5
• The Finding of Moses, designed by Andrés de la Calleja. Room 26
• Saint John the Evangelist, Royal Workshops. Room 28
• Female and Male Busts in an Urn, Anonymous. Room 23
• Charles III, designed by Anton Raphael Mengs. Room 39
• Luis XVI, François-Charles Buteux. Room 21
• Still Life with Grapes, designed attributed to Juan de Villanueva. Room 39
• Flowers with a Candle and Paper, designed by Isidro González Velázquez. Room 39
• The Clothed Maja and The Naked Maja, Anonymous. Rooms 37-38

* This frame is on display in room 6 from the 23rd of November and will later be installed in room 7A

Frames of the late-19th to 20th century. Floor 1

• The Feast of Bacchus, casa Marquina. Room 10
• Emperor Charles V at Mühlberg, casa Cano. Room 27
• Las Meninas, casa Cano. Room 12