MADRID.- The Museo Nacional del Prado has welcomed French writer Mathias Énard as the latest resident in its acclaimed program “Writing the Prado,” an initiative supported by Fundación Loewe in collaboration with Granta en español. Over the next six weeks, the celebrated novelist—winner of the Prix Goncourt for Compass—will make the museum his creative home, exploring the dialogue between literature and the visual arts.

During his residency, Énard will work from within the museum, drawing inspiration from its masterpieces, spaces, and people. His project will reflect on the connections between fiction and painting, history and imagination. The result will later be published as part of the museum’s official literary collection, joining a growing series of works born from this unique intersection of art and writing.

To mark the occasion, a public conversation between Énard and journalist José Andrés Rojo will take place on December 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the Prado’s auditorium. Admission is free, with tickets available the same day at the museum’s main ticket office. The discussion will offer visitors a glimpse into Énard’s creative world, his fascination with art, and the influence of visual culture on his novels.

Launched in 2023, “Writing the Prado” transforms the museum into a space for literary creation, inviting two internationally recognized authors each year for residencies lasting from three weeks to two months. Participants receive a dedicated workspace and full access to the Prado’s collection, library, and workshops. The program encourages daily interaction with the museum’s curators, restorers, and visitors—fostering a living exchange between artistic disciplines.

Énard now joins a distinguished list of past residents that includes John M. Coetzee, Chloe Aridjis, Olga Tokarczuk, John Banville, and Helen Oyeyemi. Together, they have transformed the Prado into a meeting point for words and images, where the act of writing becomes a form of looking.

Born in France in 1972, Énard studied Arabic and Persian and spent long periods in the Middle East before settling in Barcelona. His novels—such as Zone, Tell Them of Battles, Kings and Elephants, and The Annual Banquet of the Grave Diggers’ Guild—bridge East and West, exploring cultural memory, history, and the movement of ideas across time.

With his residency at the Prado, Énard continues this exploration—this time, through the silent eloquence of paintings, sculptures, and the living atmosphere of one of the world’s great museums.