\paperw4695 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 The idea of creating a national gallery to house the royal collections, which primarily constituted Spanish artwork but also included
Italian and Flemish works, was introduced in the eighteenth century. Painter Anton Mengs recommended the rational organization of the ôGallery,ö as is proven by a letter written in 1774. In 1810, Joseph Bonaparte decreed the creation of a museum, but it
was only in 1814, with the restoration of Ferdinand VII to power, that the decision was made to set up the National Palace of Painting. A neoclassical building on the bustling, central Paseo del Prado was chosen for the location of the museum. It was nam
ed the Royal Museum of Painting of the Prado and was opened to the public in 1819. When Queen Isabella II went into exile in 1868, it was renamed the National Museum of Painting.\par
The nucleus of the PradoÆs collection was formed at the end of the fif
teenth century when Spain became a unified state. Isabella the Catholic was particularly fond of Flemish art, while Charles V (1516-56) enlarged the collection with works from various foreign schools. and was also TitianÆs most enthusiastic patron.\par
His son, Philip II (1556-98), continued to collect TitianÆs works, bringing pictures like the artistÆs \i Self-Portrait, \i0 as well as VeroneseÆs\i Venus and Adonis\i0 to Spain. He had the good fortune of being able to purchase a large number of the m
asterpieces in the collection of Charles I of England and the wisdom to appoint one of the greatest figures in Spanish art, Diego Velßzquez, as court painter. The Prado contains a large collection of VelßzquezÆs works and the painter himself was sent to
Italy by the king to acquire Italian paintings.\par
At the end of the eighteenth century, Francisco de Goya was appointed as court artist by Charles IV.\par
Acquisitions continued to expand the PradoÆs collection during the nineteenth century, partly d
ue to Queen Isabella II, who donated her collection to the country when she went into exile. At the beginning of the twentieth century, work began on enlarging the museum in order to house the vast number of works that had been accumulated during centuri
