The contribution of the female patron on display at the Prado in Madrid

The Prado Museum in Madrid continues its exhibition project, expanding it with a program of activities that places the institution among the pioneers in highlighting the role of women in art. The program highlights the contribution of more women patrons to the Prado’s collections. Following the great success of the exhibition “The Feminine Perspective” from December 2022 to April 2023, which set new standards in the museum and collecting landscape, the Prado Museum today, May 8, presents its second edition, which runs through Sept. 8. The new exhibition invites the public to celebrate the collecting activities of several women from European royal dynasties, who played key roles in the expansion and enrichment of Spain’s royal collections, thus contributing to the formation of today’s Prado Museum.

The second itinerary focuses on new female patrons, spanning the era of Elizabeth of Bourbon to that of Marie Anne of Neuburg, covering the years 1602-1700. A focal point of this exhibition is Queen Christina of Sweden, whose fervent commitment to collecting is reflected in the presence in the Museo Nacional del Prado of the most significant group of classical sculptures, along with key paintings such as Dürer’s Adam and Eve panels. The museum’s commitment to emphasizing the role of women in art and highlighting the contributions of female patrons is also reflected in the publication of a catalog for this new thematic itinerary. In addition, there are four audiovisual features co-produced with La Caixa Forum + that are part of the series “Masterpieces of the Prado and its Art Patrons,” and an ambitious program of collateral activities, including guided tours with the curator of the route, related digital materials, guides for families, teacher training courses, a series of film screenings, a dance performance, and a new edit-a-thon.

The broad participation of the Museum’s various departments help make the project comparable to similar initiatives promoted by other institutions, such as the Rijksmuseum ’s (The Women of the Rijksmuseum) and the National Portrait Gallery’s Reframing Narratives. The result is the creation of new narratives in which women are recognized as protagonists in their own right: artistic patrons, founders of the Prado Museum and decisive figures in the formation of its collections.

Image: Sébastien Bourdon, Christina of Sweden on Horseback (1653; oil on canvas, 383 x 291 cm; Madrid, Museo del Prado)

The contribution of the female patron on display at the Prado in Madrid

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