On a recent trip to Madrid we spent a day visiting the Museo del Prado. I was already looking forward to seeing the greatest works of Velázquez but while there I discovered a few 19th century Spanish painters who were also pretty good.

Diego Velázquez

I’ve linked all of the following paintings to their respective pages on the Prado website, where you can zoom in to minute detail.

Ignacio Pinazo Camarlench

At this size, this painting below by Pinazo looks quite illustrative. However when you see it in life or if you realise that the painting is over 4 meters wide and zoom in on the Prado’s on-line gallery you’ll notice how free and painterly the brush strokes are – even the chainmail has been treated quite losely.

Raimundo de Madrazo

Raimundo was the son of painter Federico de Madrazo – who’s work including an excellent portrait of Steve Coogan can also be found in the Prado. Raimundo was a great portraitist, confident strokes bring his subjects to life. This painting of an actress dressed as a nun was one of my favourite paintings in the museum.

Joaquín Sorolla

The image below does not do justice to the rich vibrancy of the colours in Boys on the Beach. Broad fluid brush strokes and thickly applied paint make it look like this painting’s only just been finished and not yet dry.