The Painter Antonio Muñoz Degrain (1840 - 1924)

From 30 June to 11 January 2026, Hall 60 in the Villanueva Building at the Prado Museum will host a selection of paintings by Antonio Muñoz Degrain (1840–1924), considered to be one of the most original figures of 19th century Spanish art.

The exhibition, curated by Javier Barón, Head of the 19th-Century Painting Collection, consists of around a dozen paintings, five of which have been restored recently, which reflect the thematic variety, technical skill and aesthetic vision of the painter from Valencia.

The selection includes iconic pieces like Landscape at El Pardo, Mist Rising (1866), which is considered to be the painter’s finest landscape.  Using a loose brushwork, which is reminiscent of Velázquez in certain aspects, and an astonishing portrayal of the atmosphere, this painting earned him a medal at the 1866 National Expo.  Other paintings like Memories of Granada (1881) in Room 63 A or View of Granada and Sierra Nevada (c.1915) reflect his subjective and evocative approach to landscape painting, in which imagination blends into reality.

Alongside these paintings, his speech when he joined the San Fernando Academy (1899), devoted to the “sincerity of art” is on display, as well as a drawing donated to the collections and a photograph of his portrait by the sculptor Miguel Blay.

This exhibition is presented as part of a programme to raise awareness of the 19th century collections, which are the most extensive groups of paintings at the Prado Museum, which has featured different artists, techniques and contexts in small single-theme exhibitions since 2009.

Image Credits:

• Landscape at El Pardo, Mist Rising. Antonio Muñoz Degrain. 1866. Oil on Canvas. Madrid, Prado National Museum
• View of Granada and Sierra Nevada. Antonio Muñoz Degrain. Around 1915.  Oil on Canvas, 50 x 67 cm. Madrid, Prado National Museum
• Interior of Muñoz Degrain’s studio in Valencia. Domingo Marqués, Francisco.1867. Oil on panel, 38 x 50 cm. Madrid, Prado National Museum