The Prado Museum building is one of the buildings constructed during the reign of Charles III (Carlos III) as part of a grandiose building scheme designed to bestow upon Madrid a monumental urban space. The building was initially conceived by José Moñino y Redondo, count of Floridablanca, and was commissioned in 1785 by Charles III for the reurbanización of the Paseo del Prado. To this end, Charles III called on one of his favorite architects, Juan de Villanueva, author also of the nearby Botanical Garden and the City Hall of Madrid.

The prado ("meadow") that was where the museum now stands gave its name to the area, the Salón del Prado (later Paseo del Prado), and to the museum itself upon nationalisation. Work on the building stopped at the conclusion of Charles III's reign and throughout the Peninsular War and was only initiated again during the reign of Charles III's grandson, Ferdinand VII. The premises had been used as headquarters for the cavalry and a gunpowder-store for the Napoleonic troops based in Madrid during the war.

The next renovations that this museum will undergo will be conducted by British architect Norman Foster. This renovation was approved in June 2020 and is expected to take a minimum of four years.

• Rogier van der Weyden, The Descent from the Cross, c. 1435
• Andrea Mantegna, Death of the Virgin, c. 1461
• Antonello da Messina, The Dead Christ Supported by an Angel, c. 1475
• Albrecht Dürer Self-portrait, 1498
• Albrecht Dürer Adam and Eve, 1507
• Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, c. 1510
• Raphael, Portrait of a Cardinal, c. 1510–11
• Joachim Patinir, Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx, c. 1515–1524
• Tintoretto, Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet, c. 1518
• Raphael, The Pearl, c. 1518–1520
• Correggio, Noli me tangere, c. 1525
• Titian, Bacchanal of the Andrians, c. 1523–1526
• Titian, Equestrian Portrait of Charles V, c. 1548
• Titian, La Gloria (Titian), c. 1554
• Titian, The Fall of Man, c. 1570
• El Greco, Holy Trinity (El Greco), 1577–1579
• El Greco, The Knight with His Hand on His Breast, c. 1580
• Paolo Veronese, Venus and Adonis, c. 1580
• Caravaggio, David and Goliath, 1600
• Georges de La Tour, Ciego tocando la zanfonía, 1610–1630
• Guido Reni, Hipómenes y Atalanta, 1618–19
• El Greco, The Adoration of the Shepherds (El Greco, Madrid), 1577–1579
• Joos de Momper, Landscape with Sea and Mountains, c. 1623
• Gaspar de Crayer, Caritas Romana, c. 1625
• Nicolas Poussin, Parnassus, c. 1630–31
• Rembrandt, Artemisia, c. 1634
• Anthony van Dyck, Self-portrait with Endymion Porter, c. 1635
• Diego Velázquez, The Surrender of Breda, 1634–35

Read more on Wikipedia

In 1991, Manuel Villaescusa bequeathed his fortune of nearly $40 million in Madrid real estate to the Prado, to be used solely for the acquisition of paintings. The museum subsequently sold Villaescusa's buildings to realize income from them. The bequest suddenly made the Prado one of the most formidable bidders for paintings in the world.

Until the early 2000s, the Prado's annual income was approximately $18 million, $15 million of which came from the government and the remainder from private contributions, publications, and admissions. In 2001, the conservative government of José María Aznar decided to change the museum's financing platform, ushering in a public-private partnership. Under its new bylaws, which the Cortes Generales approved in 2003, the Prado must gradually reduce its level of state support to 50 percent from 80 percent. In exchange, the museum gained control of the budget — which was roughly €35 million in 2004 — and the power to raise money from corporate donations and merchandising. However, its 2004 €150 million expansion was paid for by the Spanish state.
The first four directors were drawn from nobility. From 1838 to 1960, the directors were mostly artists. Since then, most of them have been art historians.
• The Marquess of Santa Cruz, 1817–1820
• The Prince of Anglona, 1820–1823
• José Idiáquez Carvajal [es], 1823–1826
• The Duke of Híjar, 1826–1838
• José de Madrazo, 1838–1857
• Juan Antonio de Ribera, 1857–1860
• Federico de Madrazo, 1860–1868
• Antonio Gisbert, 1868–1873
• Francisco Sans Cabot, 1873–1881
• Federico de Madrazo, 1881–1894
• Vicente Palmaroli, 1894–1896
• Francisco Pradilla, 1896–1898
• Luis Álvarez Catalá, 1898–1901
• José Villegas Cordero, 1901–1918
• Aureliano de Beruete y Moret, 1918–1922
• Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor, 1922–1931
• Ramón Pérez de Ayala, 1931–1936
• Pablo Ruiz Picasso, 1936–1939

Read more on Wikipedia