The Museo Nacional del Prado will lend Zaragoza 25 artistic and documentary works for 200 Years with Goya, one of the main exhibitions planned to mark the bicentenary of Francisco de Goya’s death. The exhibition will be open at La Lonja from April to August 2027 and will include, among other pieces, six works by the Aragonese artist.
Among the works arriving from the Prado is The Colossus, which will be exhibited in Zaragoza again more than three decades after its previous appearance in the city, in 1996. The loan also includes Witches’ Flight, A Garrochista, Dead Birds, and The Drunkard. According to Zaragoza City Hall, the latter three have never previously been shown in the Aragonese capital. The selection is rounded out by prints and other materials related to the painter.
The Prado’s contribution will not be limited to works by Goya. La Lonja will also receive works by later artists in which his influence can be traced, including The Friar, by Eugenio Lucas Velázquez; A Soldier and a Friar, by José Gutiérrez Solana; and a bust of Goya by the sculptor Julio Antonio. Prints, documents, and historical publications from the museum’s Old Collection will also be included.
Two centuries of Goya’s influence
The exhibition will be curated by Pedro J. Martínez Plaza, curator of the Museo del Prado’s 19th-Century Painting Department. It aims to trace Goya’s influence over the two centuries following his death, not only in painting and sculpture but also in fields such as literature, film, music, theater, and fashion.
The agreement was discussed during an institutional visit by Zaragoza Mayor Natalia Chueca to the Museo del Prado, where she met with Martínez Plaza and Alfonso Palacio, the museum’s deputy director for Conservation and Research and a member of the National Commission for the Commemoration of the Bicentenary of Francisco de Goya.
The collaboration between Zaragoza and the Prado will continue in 2028. During the first half of that year, La Lonja will host Goya’s Prado for Zaragoza Residents, an immersive project designed to bring the painter’s work and world closer to the public through 360-degree projections, a sound installation related to his deafness, and a virtual-reality setting that will recreate the galleries of the Madrid museum. Admission will be free, according to information provided by City Hall.
A program running through 2028
The two exhibitions are part of the program through which Zaragoza is preparing to commemorate the bicentenary of Goya’s death, which occurred in Bordeaux in 1828. The calendar includes other exhibitions and cultural projects before and during the anniversary year.
They include Clash of Giants, an exhibition devoted to pop art and reinterpretations of The Colossus, scheduled for late 2026 at the Casa de los Morlanes. In the second half of 2027, La Lonja will also host Goya and Graphic Journalism, while the municipal program includes another exhibition focused on the women who were part of the painter’s life.
These initiatives will be complemented by audiovisual projects, publications, and educational activities, as well as measures linked to Goya’s presence in the city. City Hall plans to continue developing the Goya Cities Network, the Goya Festivals, and a dedicated tourism offering, as well as restore the sculptural ensemble honoring the painter in Plaza del Pilar.
The arrival of the Prado’s holdings will allow the commemoration in Zaragoza to feature original works normally kept in Madrid while offering an interpretation that goes beyond the artist’s career. 200 Years with Goya will seek to show how his work continued to influence different generations and artistic languages long after his death.
