![]() ![]() Unlike poets and musicians, painters rarely enjoyed a high social status in 17 th-century Spain. The more one studies Las Meninas, the more mysterious it becomes. And finally, to the left of the painting, with brush and palette in hand, stands Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, in the throes of completing a large work of obvious importance. Also in the background, posed upon the steps leading from the open doorway, stands Don José Nieto Velázquez – the Queen’s chamberlain and head of the royal tapestry works, who may or may not have been a relative of the painter of the piece himself. ![]() In the background, just to the left of the Infanta, hangs a mirror reflecting the images of King Philip IV and Queen Mariana. Then five-year old Infanta Margaret Teresa stands surrounded by her retinue, which includes a chaperone, maids of honor, bodyguard, two dwarfs, and a dog. The figures depicted in the painting are many. ![]() Depicting a scene in the Spanish court during the reign of King Philip IV, the piece may at first glance seem like nothing out of the ordinary, but the strange, photographic-like quality of its subjects, capturing some in the throes of movement, while others seem to pose and gaze out purposefully at the viewer, alongside the questions the piece raises about reality and illusion, make Las Meninas one of the most discussed and analyzed paintings in the history of art.ĭiego Velázquez, Las Meninas, 1656, oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid Diego Velázquez’ 1656 painting Las Meninas has long been considered one of the most important pieces of Western art. ![]()
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