The Prado Museum is hosting one of its most special evening events in August: “The Prado by Night.” On Saturday, August 1, the museum will once again open its doors from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. with completely free admission and limited capacity—a unique opportunity to explore the galleries of the Villanueva building outside regular hours and enjoy a brand-new exhibition dedicated to Valeriano Domínguez Bécquer, brother of the famous Romantic poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. Admission will be free until capacity is reached, with last entry at 11:00 PM through the Jerónimos Gate, making this a very attractive option for those seeking a unique cultural experience during Madrid’s nightlife.
The star of this night opening will be “Valeriano D. Bécquer (1834–1870): Genre Paintings,” a temporary exhibition that brings together for the first time the eight paintings the artist created between 1866 and 1867 as part of a commission for the former Museo de la Trinidad. Following the dissolution of that museum, the works were transferred to the Prado and began to be dispersed as they were deposited in various institutions starting in 1877; consequently, their current reunification in a single exhibition constitutes an exceptional event. To carry out the commission, Valeriano received a stipend by Royal Order of February 6, 1865, which was terminated in 1868 following the overthrow of Isabel II, adding a very specific historical and political context to the creation of this series of genre paintings.
Paintings of Everyday Life
This is one of the finest examples of 19th-century costumbrista painting in Spain, unparalleled in other museums across the country, both for the technical quality of the works and for the artist’s sincere and objective perspective, which makes the collection a fundamental chapter in Spanish pictorial realism. The exhibition also holds extraordinary documentary value: the complete set of documentation — consisting of descriptions of the paintings written by Valeriano Bécquer himself— has been preserved, and excerpts from these descriptions have been incorporated into the exhibition tour. Thanks to these descriptions, visitors can engage with the depicted scenes not only visually but also through the artist’s own words, which deepens their understanding of the everyday world, customs, and ordinary people who feature in the works.
The exhibition is located in Gallery 60 on the ground floor of the Villanueva Building, which in 2026 serves as an “open storage area”—a dynamic space dedicated to 19th-century collections. This setting allows for the contextualization of Valeriano Bécquer’s genre paintings in dialogue with other works from the same period, while also underscoring the museum’s commitment to making collections that are typically less visible available to the public. During “The Prado by Night,” the ground floor will remain open and offer a tour that begins with Romanesque and Gothic painting, continues through the Renaissance, and culminates in the 19th century, presenting a compact yet rich journey through different eras and styles.
A Nighttime Tour of the Prado
During this nighttime tour, visitors will be able to view iconic works by artists such as Hieronymus Bosch, Van der Weyden, Sofonisba Anguissola, Fra Angelico, Patinir, Federico de Madrazo, Angelica Kauffmann, Aurelia Navarro, María Roësset, Fortuny, and Goya, among others. This selection turns the evening into an opportunity to journey through the history of European painting from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, linking great masters with lesser-known names that are nonetheless essential to understanding the evolution of art. The tour thus allows visitors to combine the discovery of Valeriano Bécquer and costumbrista painting with the experience of rediscovering some of the Prado’s most iconic works in a setting different from the usual one.
During “El Prado by Night,” visitors will have free access to the premium content of La Guía del Prado and can try out various experiences developed specifically for these evening events. One of the most striking is Photo Prado, a mobile app that allows visitors to take home a personalized photographic memento of their visit.
Photo Prado uses artificial intelligence applied to photography to integrate the visitor’s silhouette into the museum’s iconic spaces and works, generating personalized compositions that include a stamp with the date of the visit.