The
Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national
art museum, located in central
Madrid. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of
Spanish art. Founded as a museum of
paintings and
sculpture in 1819, it also contains important collections of other types of works. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and is considered one the greatest museums of art in the world. The numerous works by
Francisco de Goya, the single most extensively represented artist, as well as by
Diego Velázquez,
El Greco,
Titian,
Peter Paul Rubens and
Hieronymus Bosch are some of the highlights of the collection.