Walter Finch
MADRID’S Prado Museum has announced its 2025 program featuring three major exhibitions dedicated to El Greco, Paolo Veronese, and Rafael Mengs.
The highlight will be an unprecedented gathering of El Greco’s works from Toledo’s Santo Domingo el Antiguo monastery, bringing together most of the pieces created between 1577 and 1579 for the first time since their dispersal in 1830.
Running from February 18 to June 15, the exhibition will feature the artist’s ‘Assumption of the Virgin’, returning to the Prado after more than a century through an agreement with Chicago’s Art Institute.
Only one El Greco piece will be missing from the reunion – a painting owned by Russia’s Hermitage Museum, which cannot be loaned due to ongoing EU cultural sanctions following the Ukraine invasion.
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Alberto Otero Herranza / Prado Museum
The second major exhibition will celebrate Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), showcasing 120 works by the Italian master from May 27 to June 21.
Sponsored by the AXA Foundation, the exhibition will explore three main themes: Veronese’s creative process, including sketches and production methods; his workshop management; and his unique ability to capture the aspirations of Venetian elite society.
The third headlining show, ‘Anton Rafael Mengs: The Greatest Painter of the 18th Century,’ will run from November 25, 2025, to March 1, 2026.
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MONASTERY OF FRANCISCAN CONCEPTIONS
The exhibitions will display 150 works including oils, watercolors, frescoes, sculptures, medals, and manuscripts, offering visitors a complete vision of the German artist’s work and his relationships with masters like Raffaello Sanzio, Correggio, and Pompeo Batoni.
Museum Director Miguel Falomir also announced several other initiatives, including a continued focus on women in art through the third edition of ‘Prado in Feminine’, exploring the legacy of prominent female patrons including queens María Luisa Gabriela de Saboya and Isabel de Farnesio.
Alberto Otero Herranza / Prado Museum
The museum will venture into contemporary art with an exhibition dedicated to Madrid artist Juan Muñoz, examining his connections to Renaissance and Baroque masters, while a special exhibition on the Virgin of Guadalupe will explore the religious icon’s influence across Spain, Italy, the Philippines, and Latin America.
The year’s program will also include a literary initiative featuring British author Helen Oyeyemi and French writer Mathias Énard, who will explore how the museum’s collections have influenced their work.
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