Las Meninas
One of the most famous and most analysed paintings in the Western world, Las Meninas, painted by the renowned artist Diego Velázquez now stands proud in the Museo del Prado, Madrid having been deemed too important to be moved
What is it that makes this painting so famous, so discussed and still at the forefront of art critic's conversation?
Painted in and originally entitled "Ia Familia", Velázquez made several alterations before unveiling the work as Las Meninas ("The Ladies in Waiting") As far as a piece of artwork can be, it took it's place immediately as a modern masterpiece.
The subjects, the composition and the detail were beautifully complex and thus began it's place in history.
Owing to the artist's unusually close relationship with the royal household (Velázquez had been the artist in residence for 33 years at the time of painting Las Meninas), he had direct access into both poignant figures and moments in their life.
Velázquez had two great advantages when he painted this scene: his own studio within the palace (the "pieza principal" or ""main room" of the King's late son, Balthazar Charles) and a somewhat friendly relationship with the King himsel
Las Meninas Analysis
- Date of Creation:
- circa
- Alternative Names:
- The Family of Felipe IV
- Height (cm):
- Length (cm):
- Medium:
- Oil
- Support:
- Canvas
- Subject:
- Scenery
- Art Movement:
Baroque
- Created by:
Diego Velazquez
- Current Location:
Madrid, Spain
- Displayed at:
Museo Nacional del Prado
- Owner:
Museo Nacional del Prado
Las Meninas
Diego Velazquez
Stylistically, Las Meninas is like the sum of the best parts of all of Velázquez's earlier paintings. Just like his early bodegones, the paintings is marked for its intense, Caravaggesque chiaroscuro, a limited and somber palette, a photo-like realism, and remarkably loose, free, unrestrained brushstrokes.
Las Meninas
Diego Velazquez
Las Meninas
Diego Velazquez
Las Meninas
Diego Velazquez
Las Meninas
Diego Velazquez
Las Meninas
Diego Velazquez
Las Meninas
Diego Velazquez
Las Meninas
Diego Velazquez
Las Meninas
Diego Velazquez
If Las Meninas was voted as the greatest painting of all time, it is largely due to the extraordinary and innovative complexity of the composition. Velázquez's painting may appear re
Ever seen a painting that feels like a puzzle, inviting you to step inside and figure out what’s really happening? Today, we’re going to fast and easily explain the meaning behind Diego Velázquez’s &#;Las Meninas&#; and why it’s considered one of the most intriguing and complex masterpieces in art history.
Pause for a moment and think: What do you imagine when you think of a royal portrait? Perhaps something formal and straightforward?
But &#;Las Meninas,&#; painted in by Diego Velázquez, is anything but straightforward. At first glance, it seems like a simple group portrait of the Spanish royal family and their attendants. But the more you look, the more you realize that this painting is playing with your perception.
Look closely at the composition. In the center, you see the young Infanta Margarita, surrounded by her maids of honor (the &#;meninas&#;), a dwarf, a dog, and other attendants. Velázquez himself is also in the painting, standing behind a large canvas, as if he’s painting the very scene we’re looking at.
But here’s where it gets interesting: In the background, there’s a mirror reflecting the image of King Philip IV and Queen Mariana. This suggest
Las Meninas (Ladies-in-waiting) ()
Who is Being Painted?
It is a fairly complex scene, and one which some art critics believe is more like a genre painting than a portrait - after all, who is Velazquez painting? It is surely not the Infanta: he scarcely casts a glance at her, any more than he does at the ladies-in-waiting or the dwarfs. At what or at who is his glance directed, and what are the Infanta, the attendant, and the tiny woman gazing at? They are all looking to the front, towards something beyond, or rather at something outside the image field, which can be identified if we pay attention to the mirror hanging on the rear wall (left-centre), in which we see the reflections of the King and Queen of Spain.
This is highly reminiscent of the Arnolfini Portrait (, National Gallery, London) by Jan van Eyck (), which also employed a mirror to reveal something lying outside the image field. The same device is used quite differently here, however. The object represented in the mirror is in fact the real subject of the picture.
So the artist has painted a picture of himself painting a portrait of two people, whom we cannot see, but whom are watched by their
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