Juan Muñoz. History of Art

From 18 November to 8 March 2026, the Prado Museum will host an exhibition curated by Vicente Todolí which offers a journey to explore the art of Juan Muñoz as a means of conversing with time and theatricality.

The sculptor, Juan Muñoz explored art as a means of conversing with time. His work, marked by theatricality and dynamism, reveals a deep admiration for masters like Velázquez, Goya or Bernini. The Prado Museum was a starting point in his career.

Juan Muñoz's work is built on an intimate dialogue with the history of art. In his youth, the Prado Museum was his school, where he discovered the expressiveness of Parmigianino, the poetic darkness of Goya and the realism of Velázquez. During his time in Rome, the architecture of Borromini, the dramatic gestures of Bernini and the labyrinth spaces of Piranesi shaped his conception of the surroundings as an emotional stage.

Fascinated by the Baroque theatricality and the fleetingness of the moment, Muñoz gave his sculptures an unsettling stillness.  His interest in dwarves, shared with Velázquez and in moral ambiguity, like Goya, led him to create works that challenge the viewer through stillness, silence, and the tension between presence and absence.