Las Meninas. Diego Velazquez. c. 1656 CE Oil on canvas.

• Content
  • Portrait of the artist in his studio at work; he steps back from his very large canvas and looks at the viewer
  • Central is the Infanta Margharita of Spain with her meninas, a dog, a dwarf, and a midget. Behind are two chaperones in half-shadow. In the doorway is perhaps Jose Nieto, who was head of the queen’s tapestry works
  • The king and queen appear in a mirror. But what is the mirror reflecting?
    • Velaquez’s canvas?
    • The king and queen perhaps standing in the viewer’s space–is this why people have turned around?
    • Or is it reflecting a painting of the king and queen on the far wall of the room
  • What is the painter painting?
    • The royal family?
    • The Infanta?
    • A painting of this painting?
    • Us?
    • Ultimately, there is no answer, which expresses the Baroque fascination with exploring reality.
• Form
  • Alternating darks and lights draw the viewer deeper into the canvas; the mirror simultaneously reflects out into the viewer’s space
  • Dappled effect of light on shimmering surfaces
  • Painterly brushstrokes seen in the sleeves of the Infanta and the hands of the artist
• Function
  • Painting originally hung in King Philip IV’s study
• Context
  • Velaquez wears the cross of the Royal Order of Santiago, which elevated him to knighthood; this work seeks to establish painting as a noble occupation
  • Paintings on the back wall depict Minerva, goddess of wisdom and patroness of the arts.