Museo del Prado has evolved into Spain’s national art museum since it was founded in 1819. El Prado’s has a collection of over 21,000 Spanish and European artworks. Approximately 1,300 of these are on display attracting over 2.3 million visitors a year. This is the Casón del Buen Retiro, now the Prado Museum’s library and study center. In the 1630’s, Philip IV of Spain commissioned Alonso Carbonel to design this as a ballroom. The former Salón de Baile is one of only two buildings surviving from Felipe IV’s palatial recreational residence called Palacio del Buen Retiro. On the right is a statue of Queen María Isabel de Braganza.
