Prado Museum
Iberdrola, patron of the Prado Museum
Iberdrola has been working with the Prado Museum
Enlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. since 2010, the year in which both institutions established an ongoing partnership, taking the form of support for conservation and restoration programmes, as well as sponsorship of various exhibitions. Since 2018, the company has also been a patron of the museum.
At Iberdrola we maintain a close partnership with the Prado Museum through various initiatives aimed at the conservation, restoration and promotion of artistic heritage. As a patron of the museum since 2018, we form part of the group of organisations that actively support the mission of one of the world's most important cultural institutions, contributing to the development of conservation projects and the promotion of talent specialising in restoration.
As part of this collaboration at Iberdrola, we support programmes linked to the conservation of works of art and the professional development of young restorers through training grants, thereby promoting the transfer of knowledge and the preservation of heritage for future generations.
A strategic partnership with a cultural focus
The collaboration between Iberdrola and the Prado Museum reflects a shared commitment to culture, sustainability and making a positive impact on society. This partnership reinforces our vision of promoting projects with a legacy and lasting social value, linking heritage, innovation and access to culture, with benefits for the museum, professionals and the public.
-
Protection and dissemination of heritage
The collaboration helps to preserve one of the world's most significant art collections and bring it closer to society.
-
Promoting talent and training
Support for scholarship programmes helps young professionals specialise in art conservation and restoration.
-
Access to culture and education
The initiatives launched in partnership with the museum promote a more accessible, educational and inclusive cultural experience.
-
Culture and sustainability
The partnership reinforces shared values such as innovation, conservation and a commitment to sustainable and long-term development.
We are celebrating our 125-year history with the Prado Museum
At the Iberdrola Group we are celebrating our 125 light-years, a milestone on the long journey that has led us to become Europe's leading electricity company by market capitalisation and one of the two largest in the world. To mark the occasion, we have organised an extensive programme of activities, including art exhibitions and initiatives with the Prado Museum.
Iberdrola's collaboration with the Prado: exhibitions, restorations and grants
'The Prado on the Streets', a travelling exhibition
Exhibition dates: 2018 to present
At Iberdrola, through our Foundation in SpainEnlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. , we are sponsoring 'The Prado Museum in the Streets'Enlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. , an open-air exhibition comprising 50 life-size photographic reproductions of the art gallery's most iconic paintings.
The aim is to promote awareness and dissemination of the collections and the cultural identity of the museum's historical heritage, supporting the development of educational programmes and cultural outreach activities. What’s more, it seeks to virtually recreate the experience of visiting the museum by allowing visitors to view the paintings in their actual size.
The exhibition has already toured the streets of the Valencia, Andalusia, Extremadura, Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha regions.
Annual grants for young restorers
At Iberdrola we promote training in the arts by awarding study and research grants aimed at young restorers.Enlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. This collaboration with the Prado Museum's Restoration Workshop, supported by the Iberdrola España Foundation, has been running since 2010 and involves the awarding of three grants each year.
"It is a tremendous opportunity to gain knowledge, training and experience, all of which shape you as a person and as a restoration professional"
Alicia Peral
Former Iberdrola grant recipient and painting restorer at the Prado Museum
These grants focus on three areas of specialisation:
- Painting restoration: study and participation in the restoration and conservation processes of paintings.
- Frame restoration: study and participation in the restoration and conservation processes of frames.
- Technical documentation service: focused on image digitisation processes and the preparation of material for X-ray imaging in the preparation of pre-restoration studies.
Iberdrola awards annual grants so that young restorers can become trained at the Museo del Prado Workshop. Video voice transcription (Spanish version) [PDF].
Restoration projects
As a Supporting Patron of the Prado Museum's Restoration Programme, Iberdrola has participated in several projects to restore spaces and some of the art gallery's most important works.
The Annunciation, Fra Angelico
Restoration completed: 2019
We collaborated in the restoration of The Annunciation by Fra Angelico, a work dating from the mid-1420s and notable as the first Renaissance altarpiece to use perspective to organise space.
The restoration work, carried out by Almudena Sánchez, focused on removing the grey layer of dirt that darkened the surface and eliminating oil overpainting from previous interventions. This restored the rich, vibrant colours and intense light that envelop the scene, characteristic features of both this painting and Fra Angelico's wider body of work.
The Triumph of Death, Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Restoration completed: 2018
We sponsored the restoration of The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, one of only two works by the artist preserved in Spain. The restoration, carried out by María Antonia López de Asiain and José de la Fuente, restored the painting's structural stability and original colour palette, composition and painting technique, bringing back clarity to the foreground details. You can read the interview with López de Asiain and De la Fuente here. External link, opens in new window.
Presentation of The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder after the restoration process. Video voice transcription (Spanish version) [PDF].
Pablo de Valladolid, Diego Velázquez
Restoration completed: 2026
We participated in the restoration of Pablo de ValladolidEnlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. by Diego Velázquez, one of the artist's most admired works and described by Manet as "the most astonishing painting ever painted", as part of the conservation programme for the museum's paintings promoted by the Iberdrola España Foundation as a patron of its Restoration Programme.
Although the painting had survived in good condition, it contained historical interventions that altered the balance of the composition, one of its most essential qualities. The restoration returned the canvas to its original appearance by recovering its initial dimensions and restoring the delicate balance between the figure and the surrounding space, a defining feature of Velázquez's modern and daring pictorial language.
David Victorious over Goliath, Caravaggio
Restoration completed: 2023
We collaborated in the restoration of David Victorious over Goliath by CaravaggioEnlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. to recover its original appearance, which had gradually been obscured by layers of dirt and oxidised varnish. The opacity of these old varnishes made it difficult to appreciate the dimensions of the setting in which David and Goliath appear.
Technical studies using infrared reflectography and radiography helped assess the painting's condition and understand the artist's creative process. The analysis also identified two specific accidental damages: the most significant on David's sleeve and another on his knee. The restoration removed overpainting from earlier interventions, while colour losses in these areas were integrated through chromatic reintegration.
Paintings from the exhibition ‘In lapide depictum. Italian Painting on Stone’
Restoration completed: 2018
The company also collaborated in restoring three paintings selected for the exhibition “In lapide depictum. Italian Painting on Stone, 1530-1555”, which ran from 17 April to 5 August 2018.
Among them was The Entombment of Christ from the Bassano workshop, restored by Alicia PeralEnlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. . The intervention recovered the volume of each figure, their precise position within the composition and the depth of the landscape. It also revealed gold brushstrokes used by the artist to create a shimmering lighting effect against the dark slate support.
'In lapide depictum. Italian painting on stone, 1530-1555', opened to the public from 17 April to 5 August 2018, at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Video voice transcription (Spanish version) [PDF].
Previous restorations
-
Restorations from 2020 to the present
The Countess of Chinchón, Francisco de Goya
Restoration completed: 2020
We collaborated in the restoration of The Countess of Chinchón by Goya. Technical studies revealed that it had been painted over other hidden portraits. The intervention reinforced the canvas, repaired small tears and secured areas affected by craquelure. Oxidised varnish and accumulated dirt were also removed, restoring the painting's original luminosity. Thanks to the cleaning process, the colours, details of the dress and the delicacy of the Countess's expression can now be appreciated more clearly. Find out more about The Countess of Chinchón.
External link, opens in new window. 
The Countess of Chinchón, Francisco de Goya
Hippomenes and Atalanta, Guido Reni
Restoration completed: 2022
This restoration, carried out by Almudena Sánchez with Iberdrola's support, removed oxidised varnishes and degraded overpainting that altered the colours and original appearance of the work. Damaged areas were recovered and chromatic reintegration reconstructed significant losses, particularly Atalanta's delicate profile and facial features. Following the intervention, the painting regained the light, colour and strength originally conceived by Guido Reni. Find out more about Hippomenes and Atalanta.Enlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva.
External link, opens in new window. 
Hippomenes and Atalanta, Guido Reni.
-
Restorations from 2010 to 2019
Works from the exhibition 'Their Majesties’ Retiring Room'
Restoration completed: 2019
We participated in the restoration of many of the 44 paintings featured in the exhibition “Their Majesties’ Retiring Room”. Open to visitors from 9 April to 24 November 2019, the exhibition recreated the original purpose of Room 39 in the Villanueva Building, created in 1828 as a resting place for King Ferdinand VII and his family. Find out more about 'Their Majesties’ Retiring Room'.
Enlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. 
Luis Paret y Alcázar, Oath of Ferdinand VII as Prince of Asturias, 1791.
The Fountain of Grace, workshop of Jan van Eyck
Restoration completed: 2018
Another of the works restored with Iberdrola's support was The Fountain of Grace, painted in the Low Countries in a setting closely linked to the workshop of Jan van Eyck. The painting underwent an 18-month restoration process to remove the opaque, yellowed varnish that covered its surface. This intervention restored the sense of space and depth, the dark linear detailing and the distinctive glazing technique. The findings of this detailed study were presented alongside the restored work in an exhibition sponsored by Iberdrola, which ran until 27 January 2019. Find out more about The Fountain of Grace.
External link, opens in new window. 
The Fountain of Grace, before and after the restoration process. Video voice transcription (Spanish version) [PDF].The Fall of Lucifer, The Saviour and The Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Antonio María Esquivel
Restoration completed: 2018
With Iberdrola's support, the Prado Museum also restored three important religious works by the Sevillian painter Antonio María Esquivel: The Fall of Lucifer, The Saviour and The Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus and the Holy Spirit with Angels in the Background. Only the first of these had previously been exhibited, and only briefly, at the Casón del Buen Retiro, while the other two had never been displayed. Find out more about the works of Antonio María Esquivel.
External link, opens in new window. Enlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva...
The Fall of Lucifer, The Saviour and The Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Antonio María Esquivel
Other notable contributions include The Crucifixion by Rogier van der Weyden, six important Rubens panels from a Eucharistic series and Saint John the Baptist by Titian.
Villanueva Building
Restoration completed: 2018
We participated in the refurbishment of the entire second floor of the north wing of the Villanueva Building for exhibition purposes. This project enabled the reorganisation of the Prado Museum's collection, creating a more continuous and accessible visitor route. In addition, eight new galleries dedicated to 17th-century Flemish and Dutch painting were opened to the public, displaying major works by Rubens, Rembrandt, Jan Brueghel, Clara Peeters, David Teniers, Salomon de Bray and Gabriël Metsu. Iberdrola restoration projects with the Prado Museum.
External link, opens in new window.
'Lighting the Prado', a sustainable project
Project dates: 2013 to 2021
The 'Lighting the Prado'External link, opens in new window. project, sponsored by the Iberdrola España Foundation, aimed to equip exhibition galleries housing both the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions with a new LED lighting system to replace the previous halogen-based technology.
This change achieved annual energy savings of 77% and prevented the emission of more than 372 tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere every year. The project was developed in two phases: 2013-2018 and 2019-2021. The new lighting system not only improves the conservation of works of art by reducing the damage factor by more than 44%, but also eliminates ultraviolet and infrared radiation and enhances visitors' appreciation of the artworks by improving visual clarity. It creates a sense of depth without distorting the composition, intensifies colour and generates a more accurate perception of volume.
'Iluminando El Prado' tiene como objetivo dotar a las salas de exposiciones de un nuevo sistema de iluminación con tecnología LED.
