Voces del Prado

The Prado: the great depository of Spanish history

Rafael Moneo Vallés, Trustee and architect of the Jerónimos extension, 1994-What's on

My name is Rafael Moneo and I am the architect who carried out the expansion project at the Museo del Prado. As a child – I’d probably yet to reach ten years of age – I used to come to Madrid frequently with my family. I remember our visits to the Prado perfectly. I remember them well, because the layout of the great hall lasted for a long time, packed as it was with the history of Spanish painting: the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch and Albrecht Dürer on the right; El Greco and Velázquez on the left; the small cabin containing Las Meninas and, in the room at the back, Goya.
My earliest vocation was probably to become a painter. When I was older, I would also come to Madrid because I was interested to find out what could be seen in the exhibition halls and I wanted to visit museums. The Prado became increasingly important to me. I was capable of understanding what this form of expression through painting meant in terms of culture: comprehending the history of Spain through its painters; distinguishing the difference between Zurbarán and Murillo; understanding the gravity of the still-lifes of Sánchez Cotán … I gradually realised just how important the Prado was in its role as the grand depository of Spanish history.