Overview
- Director Víctor Cageao detailed a yearlong schedule designed to consolidate the Madrid institution’s profile following strong 2025 attendance of 741,589 visitors.
- Two flagship shows anchor the calendar: Tejiendo la vida cortesana in June on court textiles and Insólitas maravillas in December exploring exceptional and exotic curiosities from Spain’s royal dynasties.
- Monographic and thematic highlights include Brambila, pintor de los Reales Sitios in May, Miniaturas reales in December assembling about 150 pieces, La precisión del tiempo in March on 19th‑century clocks, and El arte de guardar in October on cases and coffers.
- Contemporary dialogues return with Alteraciones III in June featuring Bleda y Rosa, José Manuel Ballester, Teo Barba, and Andrés Pachón, alongside PHotoESPAÑA’s Cuadernos del campo led in 2026 by Isabel Muñoz photographing the woodlands around El Escorial.
- Rotations and displays of newly acquired or restored works will include a Vicente López portrait of Fernando VII, a notable Coxcie, and baroque sculptures from the Descalzas Reales, with fresh loans planned from the Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia, the Casa de Alba, and London’s National Gallery, plus invited pieces by Gaspar Becerra, Peter Paul Rubens, and Diego Velázquez.