Buen Retiro Palace

The Buen Retiro Palace was once a sprawling palace complex in Madrid, built on the orders of Spain's King Philip IV. The architect Alonso Carbonell designed the complex, which served as a second residence and a place of retreat, hence its name, "Good Retreat." Construction began in the early 17th century and stretched over several years, until the complex comprised more than twenty buildings, two large plazas for court festivities, and extensive gardens and ponds. Although the king spent only a few days a year here, mostly in summer, the interiors were lavishly appointed to rival those of his main residence, the Alcázar. Numerous paintings were commissioned from Italy for the purpose, including works by Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin, and Diego Velázquez, whose famous painting "The Surrender of Breda" was created for the Throne Room.

After the Alcázar burned down in the 18th century, the Buen Retiro Palace served for a time as the seat of the royal court until the new Royal Palace was completed. The original construction, however, was of poor quality, and together with the destruction wrought by French troops during the War of Independence in 1808, this led to the loss of most of the buildings. Ammunition depots and bunkers in the gardens did irreparable damage, so that under Queen Isabella II a full restoration was no longer possible and most of the complex was torn down.

Today it is mainly the gardens of Retiro Park that recall the former splendor, even though they now cover only half of the original area and no longer follow the old design. Two heavily altered buildings are now part of the Prado Museum complex. The former throne room, the Salón de Reinos, housed the Army Museum for a long time before being integrated into the museum complex. The other surviving building, the Salón de Baile, known as the Casón del Buen Retiro, now houses the Prado's study center. Its ceiling is adorned with a magnificent fresco by Luca Giordano depicting the apotheosis of the Spanish monarchy, originally created for King Charles II.