The Museo Nacional del Prado Library

The Museo Nacional del Prado possesses one of the most important Art libraries in Spain, specialized in European Painting, Sculpture, Drawing, Engraving and Decorative Arts from Middle Ages to the 19th century.

The Library contains approximately 75.000 monographs and 1.500 periodicals as well as audiovisual material and specialized digital resources. It also has an interesting collection of antique books (prior to 1900) –about 5.000– as a result of the acquisition of the Cervelló and Madrazo Libraries. The Library’s collection is accessible through its catalogue.

Exhibitions:

• Bibliotheca Artis: Treasures from the Museo del Prado library
• El Greco’s Library

The Museo Nacional del Prado Archive

The Archive of the Museo Nacional del Prado comprises approximately 4.500 boxes that contain the documentation generated by the different departments of the Museum since its foundation in the first third of the 19th century until present. The entire content of the Archive has been computerized and can be consulted in situ on the terminals available in the Reading Room. The Archive department is currently working on the description and digitalization of the most important series (Acquisitions, Donations and Bequests) up to the level of individual documents. This information will soon be accessible through the website.

The Archive can be consulted by all researchers with an interest in the collection and history of the Museum following the actual legislation.

Documentation Service

The task of the Documentation Service of the Museo Nacional del Prado is to gather together and organize the historical, scientific and technical information related to the Museum’s collection and to include it into the database. The Documentation Service has promoted the creation of an information system which allows the different departments of the Museum to access this information, turning the internal work of each of them into visible data. This information is fully available from terminals located in the Reading Room, although the online Collection in the museum website provides partial access to this information.

The Documentation Service enables researchers and millions of users that cannot move to the Museum to access this information by promoting the Collection through the Museum website.

Restoration of The Threshing Ground or Summer by Goya

La restauración de esta obra maestra desvela la técnica pictórica sutil y compleja que ha alcanzado Goya en esta fase de su carrera, impartiendo en este cuadro una autentica lección de pintura.

The altarpiece of Saint Dominic of Silos by Bartolomé Bermejo

In 1474, Bartolomé Bermejo was contracted to execute the altarpiece for the church of Saint Dominic of Silos in Daroca (Saragossa). Two of the panels and part of the architectural structure of this altarpiece (dismantled in the eighteenth century), are in the collection of the Prado Museum. The central panel, with the representation of Saint Dominic enthroned as a bishop...

Boletín del Museo del Prado

Number 51 / 2015

The Museo del Prado publishes a new issue of the Bulletin of the Museo del Prado. This is an important publication to follow the continuing evolution of museum studies.