Patrimonio Nacional has reopened the Painting and Architecture Museums at the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, which had been closed to the public for a decade. The €3.1 million renovation, funded primarily through Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, has brought new displays to both museums.

The Painting Museum presents around 100 works from the Italian, Flemish, and Spanish schools, including paintings by Tiziano, Tintoretto, Veronese, Rogier van der Weyden, Luca Giordano, Jusepe de Ribera, and Michiel Coxcie. Twenty-one works are now on permanent display for the first time.

The new presentation focuses not only on individual masterpieces but also on the formation of the Royal Collections over four centuries. Philip II played a central role in establishing El Escorial as an important artistic center. He brought major religious works from his collection to the Monastery, while later monarchs, including Philip IV, Charles II, Charles IV, and Isabella II, expanded the holdings with paintings from leading European schools.

Highlights of the renewed display include Michiel Coxcie’s Allegory of the Redemption diptych, known as the “Flemish Raphael,” and Rogier van der Weyden’s Calvary, noted for its technical mastery and innovative composition. Nearly one-third of the works on display were restored specifically for the reopening.