Paintings from the Habsburg and Bourbon royal collections form the basis of the Prado collection. The building was designed by a leading Neo Classical architect as a Museum of Natural Science but opened to the public in 1819. Early Flemish masterpieces by Rogier van der Weyden and Bosch hang near works by Titian and Rubens. But the Prado’s wealth lies in its collection of works by the great ‘Golden Age’ Spanish artists, El Greco, Velázquez (including his great painting Las Meninas) Zurbarán, Murillo, and the later multi-talented Goya.
Biography:
Historian, art historian, and painter. She is passionate about Spain and Spanish topics. She has been a long-time lecturer for The Arts Society, and before Covid she taught on courses at the V&A, and for Art Pursuits, the National Gallery and the Art Fund. She has lectured on Cambridge University Summer Schools, the Courtauld Institute Summer Courses, Inscape, and for many arts organisations in Europe. In the past she led tours to Spain for The Arts Society and Martin Randall Travel. Gail lectured in the Prado and Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid in the 1980s, and was Deputy Curator of Keats Shelley Memorial House, Rome, before that. She was also once a Christie’s consultant in Illuminated Manuscripts. In 2015 Gail was awarded the Encomienda de Isabel la Católica (the equivalent of the CBE) by the King of Spain for promoting Spanish culture among British audiences. She is President of The Arts Society Colchester.
