El Prado surprises with a free night: Rubens, Velázquez and contemporary art

The Prado opens free this Saturday night. Masterpieces and sculptures by Juan Muñoz coexist in a unique atmosphere. Discover the renewed Central Gallery and interactive technology. Only for a few hours and with limited capacity. Nights of art in Madrid like never before.

The Museo Nacional del Prado breaks the mould again this Saturday 3 January: it will open its doors from 20:30 to 23:30 for a free evening visit, allowing visitors to tour the first floor of the Villanueva building and enjoy some of its most emblematic rooms outside normal hours.

The Central Gallery, recently renewed with a blue background that enhances the monumentality of the space and the colour of the works, will be one of the highlights of the route. Iconic pieces such as Titian’s ‘Charles V at Mühlberg’, Rubens’s ‘The Three Graces’ and Guido Reni’s ‘Hippomenes and Atalanta’ await there, all in a new nocturnal light.

In this edition, the exhibition ‘Juan Muñoz. Art Stories’ is integrated into the permanent collection, allowing the Madrid artist’s sculptures to engage directly with great classical masters such as Velázquez and Goya. This collaboration with Madrid City Council offers an unusual experience, where the Renaissance, Mannerism and Baroque meet contemporary sculpture.

The route continues through the north Ionic gallery, where 56 pieces of sculpture and decorative arts are displayed, from Ancient Egypt to the Baroque. At night, this space acquires an intimate, evocative atmosphere, very different from the usual daylight.

The experience is completed with technological proposals developed by Samsung, such as ‘The Prado Guide’, available since 2013. In addition, until 22:00, visitors can enjoy Café Prado and the museum shop, both open for the occasion with exclusive products.