Prado
Spanish art gallery containing the national collection of pictures. The building was designed as a natural history museum and begun in 1785; it became an art gallery in 1818 under Ferdinand VII.
It comprises many great works accumulated over three centuries by the monarchs Charles V, Philip II, and Philip IV and by the religious houses of Spain. It ranks as one of the world's greatest art collections and unquestionably holds the greatest collection of Spanish masters, including Velázquez (over 60 works), El Greco, Zurbarán, Ribera, Murillo, and Goya.
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