The Fountain on the Prado, Madrid

David Roberts's The Fountain on the Prado, Madrid of 1841, painted after his Spanish journey, depicts one of the great public spaces of the Spanish capital along the Paseo del Prado that had been transformed in the late eighteenth century into a grand neoclassical promenade. Roberts documented Madrid alongside the Moorish monuments of Andalusia, providing British audiences with documentary views of a city then relatively unfamiliar. The fountain — one of the magnificent baroque fountains installed by Charles III along the Prado walk — provided Roberts with both architectural subject matter and animated human scene.

Roberts's architectural precision captures the fountain and the surrounding buildings with characteristic accuracy. The animated figures and the warm Spanish light create a vivid image of Madrid's public life.