Tesoro del Delfín and Other Wonders of the Second Floor of the Prado
Probably one of the least visited areas of the museum.
The second floor of the Prado — technically the third floor for us Americans — is probably one of the least visited areas of the museum. But, I’ve got to admit, I prefer it that way… Just being honest. It is a nice place to go if you are wanting to escape from other routinely crowded spaces in the museum and have a more tranquil experience.
(Just a tip: another place like that is the sculpture wing — Rooms 71–74 — on the main floor of the museum. Every time I have gone to that area, it has been practically empty. They’ve got some really awesome classical sculpture too — even a couple of Greek originals.)
The second floor is separated into two independent parts — one in the North Wing and the other in the South Wing— which can only be accessed from their corresponding wings of the museum. Unfortunately, that means to get from one side to the other, you have to go back down at least one floor and then go back up on the respective side that you want to visit.
The North Wing (Rooms 76–83) houses the Tesoro del Delfín (The Dauphin’s Treasure) and a collection of Flemish and Dutch paintings from the 17th century. The South Wing (Rooms 85–94) exhibits a collection of eighteenth-century Spanish paintings — including Goya’s tapestry cartoons designed for several of the royal residencies.
On one of my countless excursions in the museum, as I was following the suggested itinerary for someone with only 2 hours, I realized I wouldn’t be able to finish it within the time that I had set aside for myself in the museum that day. As a result, I decided to skip ahead and go up to the second floor since I hadn’t been up there yet.
Once I’d made up my mind to go, it took me a second to figure out how to actually get up there. It is a bit tricky if you haven’t gone before. I tried going up the elevator, but since I was in the middle of the building, it could only go up to floor one (once again, technically the second floor for us Americans). There is an elevator that goes all the way up to the second floor. However, since I didn’t want to spend all my time looking for it, I ended up just taking the stairs.
That decision made, I went down to the very end of the main hall — where the Goya entrance is — and wandered around until I found stairs that went up to the second floor from there. I’m sure there was probably a much more straightforward way to get up there (and there is), but somehow I couldn’t figure it out at the time. The stairs turned out to be a pretty cool choice anyhow.
When you take the stairs in the Prado, you get to discover more of the little nooks and crannies of the museum. In this particular staircase there is a large-scale painting hanging in the stairwell, a sculpture tucked into a little niche, and even a small nook with a bench that looks out over the area of the Goya entrance (a decent place to sit and rest if you’re a bit winded from going up all those stairs).
You might suppose that, since they were banished to a stairwell, those artworks aren’t very important — which might be true. But for whatever reason, they were still important enough to be displayed in some capacity, and it is also a dynamic way to make use of a space that is otherwise solely functional.
As I made my way up the stairs, it was like going to a different world. These rooms have been redesigned and reincorporated into the exhibition space of the museum in relatively recent years. Everything is all nice and new, and hardly anyone was up there when I went (seriously, there were maybe like ten to fifteen other people).
That is when I discovered a wonderful hidden treasure (literally): the Tesoro del Delfín. The exhibit is composed of decorative objects that belonged to Louis, the Grand Dauphin of France (hence the name, Tesoro del Delfín or “The Dauphin’s Treasure”). This precious collection was inherited from the Dauphin by his son Phillip V of Spain, and that is how it was incorporated into the royal collections of Spain and later into those of the Prado.
The pieces are set apart in their own exhibition area in the center tower of the North Wing, and I am seriously awed every time I go into it — both by the objects and the brilliant design of the space. It produces the sensation that you are entering into a grand-scale, black-velvet-lined jewelry box. As you ascend the steps into this other realm, the lighting is kept low, with subtle spotlights on the objects, and all these are displayed against a sleek background of black walls, ceilings, and floors.
The exquisite decorative pieces glitter from their individual perches, each one designed to highlight the delicate beauty of its displayed treasure. It is absolutely breathtaking, observing the intricate details prevalent in each unique masterpiece and admiring the brilliant craftsmanship. It is incredible to think that each of those one-of-a-kind pieces was painstakingly crafted by hand, and I can hardly imagine the time it took to create each one.
The exhibit is organized more or less chronologically — and also by material and stylistic school — in a loop that brings you full circle in a recounting of the collection’s fascinating history. There is even an interactive area to the exhibit, with a video and touchscreens, that allows you to learn more about each piece and examine them in detail.
These types of decorative objects fascinate me because I love working with my hands. For me, imagining the type of work, the skill, and the care that went into each one is thrilling. Not to mention, these types of pieces — this type of craftsmanship in general — is becoming (or maybe it already is) a lost art in the world of mass-produced and manufactured products that we live in. In the period that these objects were created, they were valued as a high art form, even above painting and sculpture. If you get the chance to come to the Prado, this is one thing I will say should absolutely not be missed.
Aside from the Tesoro del Delfín, there are also several other interesting things to encounter in the North Wing. It is usually where the Prado’s Rembrandt is kept, but that painting is currently in a temporary exhibition at the museum. However, there are still several other interesting paintings to see up there, including an extensive selection of beautiful still lifes and other works by notable Flemish artists like Rubens, all the Breughels (Jan, Pieter, the Elder, the Younger, all of them), and many others. I really enjoy looking at the incredibly detailed still lifes of Clara Peeters — a remarkable and rare female artist of the period — and trying to find her subtle self-portraits, usually painted as reflections on the odd luminous surface found in her paintings.
Before coming to the second floor, I hadn’t even realized that the Prado had Ruben’s Saturn in their collection. It is one of my more preferred works by the artist because it is an extremely compelling and psychological piece, especially so when compared with Goya’s later rendering of the exact same subject. So, it was really cool to discover that both pieces are in the same museum.
I have to admit, the North Wing is pretty much my favorite on the second floor, but the South Wing is just as great. Like its counterpart, it is usually pretty empty, very calm, and mostly quiet. Goya’s impressive tapestry cartoons are up there, as well as the works of several other Spanish artists of that time period. I went up there in an elevator from the main floor, and there are even impressive relief sculptures displayed on the walls in the hall as you come out of the elevator. They make use of every space in this section and even display sculpture and paintings in the connecting halls between the distinct areas.
The whole second floor is just a hidden gem. It’s almost like stepping into an entirely different museum because the vibe is so distinct and it’s isolated from the other areas of the collections. I’m pretty sure most people have no clue any of that stuff is up there, and if that’s the case, they are missing out on some really good stuff. It is definitely worth having a look if you ever find yourself wandering the Prado.
