TOKYO, JAPAN- The National Museum of Western Art presents "Prado - Masterpieces from the Prado National Museum", on view through June 16, 2002. The Prado National Museum, famous for its unparalleled holdings of Spanish art, is also renowned for its important collection of 16th and 17th century Flemish and Venetian art works assembled by the Spanish royal family. This exhibition displays 77 works of art, including five by Velasquez and six by Goya, in its introduction to the Prado's collections. The exhibition will allow visitors to view the history of Spanish art over the centuries, while also considering the connections between Spanish art and the royal collections. The exhibition consists of six sections. Section 1 presents portraits of members of the Hapsburg royal family, including works by Velasquez. The Hapsburgs ruled Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries and assembled the works that form the foundations of the Prado's collections. Section 2 focuses on works by Titian, Tintoretto, Rubens, Jordans and other painters which reflect the Hapsburg family's refined courtly tastes developed against a background of humanist education. Section 3 examines works on a religious theme, including those by El Greco, Ribera, Zurbaran, and Murillo. These artists all contributed to the creation of Spain's distinctive forms of religious painting during the age of the Counter-Reformation. Section 4 features portraits by the court painter Velasquez and still-life paintings by a variety of artists. The two distinctive painting styles of 17th century Spain were religious paintings and these still-life paintings, particularly works featuring images of the "bodegón", or Spanish kitchen. Section 5 presents the court paintings of the Bourbon dynasty which ruled Spain during the 18th century, and works by Goya, one of the court painters for this dynasty. Goya's late works reveal the beginnings of the modern age with its revolutions and wars, indeed, they signal the end of the era for the royal court as the center of artistic activity. Section 6, the exhibition's final section, focuses on developments in 19th century Spanish art, the era which saw the transfer of the main elements of the royal collections to the Prado National Museum.