MADRID.- The Museo Nacional del Prado is giving its visitors a more personal role in shaping the museum experience — beginning with the tickets they hold in their hands.

As part of its Visitor Services program, sponsored by Telefónica, the Prado invited the public to vote on the images that will appear on its new admission tickets. Nearly 2,000 people took part in the open vote, selecting their favorite works from a group of twelve paintings connected by a shared theme: the horse.

The choice was not accidental. Long associated with power, movement, nobility and energy, the horse has played a central role in some of the Prado’s most memorable works. It also carries special resonance in relation to the Chinese calendar, which inspired the museum’s initiative.

The clear favorite among voters was Federico de Madrazo’s The Great Captain, Surveying the Field of the Battle of Cerignola, which received 74.42% of the vote. The dramatic historical painting will now be one of the images accompanying visitors as they enter one of the world’s great art museums.

Close behind was Peter Paul Rubens’ Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma, with 65.07%, followed by Luca Giordano’s Queen Mariana of Neuburg on Horseback, with 56.67%. Together, the results show the enduring appeal of the grand equestrian portrait, a genre that combines political authority, theatrical presence and artistic mastery.

Other works chosen by the public include Rubens’ energetic Saint George Fighting the Dragon, which received 53.29% of the vote; Queen Margaret of Austria on Horseback, associated with Velázquez and his workshop, with 44.44%; and Velázquez’s majestic Philip III on Horseback, with 40.55%.

The final selections bring a different tone to the group. Vicente Macip’s Christ on the Way to Calvary and Juan de Flandes’ The Crucifixion were also chosen, receiving 39.84% and 39.18%, respectively. Although these works are not equestrian portraits, horses appear within their scenes as important narrative elements, helping to place the figures within a broader visual story.

For the Prado, the initiative is more than a design update. It is another way of inviting visitors to engage directly with the museum’s collection before they even step into the galleries. By allowing the public to choose the images printed on the new tickets, the museum strengthens the connection between its masterpieces and the people who come to see them.

The project forms part of the Prado’s Visitor Services program, supported by Telefónica, which promotes initiatives designed to improve and enrich the public’s experience at the museum. In this case, the result is a small but meaningful detail: a museum ticket transformed into a keepsake, chosen by the very people who will carry it.