Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez was completed in 1656. This painting is particularly interesting because the setting is in the artist’s own studio in the palace of King Philip IV of Spain. The title means “the ladies-in-waiting” and the painting depicts the daughter of the king, Infanta Margarita Theresa, being attended to by the eponymous ladies-in-waiting. To the right are two dwarfs. Behind them is the princesses’ nurse and a body guard. The artist himself is at the far left. And lurking in the background is Don Jose Nieto Velázquez, an attendant to the queen. The king and queen themselves can be seen reflected in the mirror.
This painting is a good example of the influence of royalty on arts that persisted into the Baroque period. Velázquez stayed at the royal palace in Spain and painted many portraits of the royal family. Although the power of the merchant class and their demand for art was growing, royalty was still very important for the arts. Because Velázquez was patronized by the king he was secure enough to focus on honing his art skills, resulting in him becoming known as the greatest Spanish painter of the Baroque era. His skill can be seen in the portrait. The reflection of the king and queen is faint enough to be realistic but skillfully painted enough that it seems like a real reflection. The fact that he included the king and queen shows how important they were. Even though the main subject of the painting is not them, they still hold a presence in the art, because it is their support of him that enabled this portrait to exist in the first place. By painting himself into the painting, Velázquez makes himself a symbol of the relationship between royalty and art. The princess is in the center of the painting and dressed and white and lit by light, making her a symbol of purity and goodness. Through such symbolism, Velázquez portrays the royals as good people because they support the arts.
I like this painting because it seems very realistic, as if we have just stumbled in the room and the scene is enfolding in front of us. Some of the subjects look right at us, inviting us to join in while others look away, maintaining the feel that this a real event. I also love the small details, like the mirror reflecting the king and queen, the mysterious man in the back,and the disgruntled look on the dog’s face as the dwarfs prod it. The way that light is used in the picture, coming from several directions and drawing our attention to the princess, is interesting.
Kahr, Madlyn Millner. “Velázquez and Las Meninas.” The Art Bulletin, vol. 57, no. 2,June 1975, pp. 225-46. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/3049372. Accessed 26 Sept. 2016. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3049372
“Las Meninas.” Museo del Prado. Accessed 26 Sept. 2016. https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/las-meninas/9fdc7800-9ade-48b0-ab8b-edee94ea877f
Emily's Art Blog 
I’ve seen this painting many times throughout school. What I have learned from previous classes is that the dwarfs are actually entertainment to royalty. They are important to the family therefore would be included in something like this. Most of the light if very fixated on the young princess, I would assume to show importance, that maybe this painting was mainly for her or to represent her. There is also the one spot in the back where the man is leaving that is lit. The man himself has a lot of shadow but the open door with light coming through really draws attention back there. I like how you pointed out that Velazquez painted himself (but in shadow) to not necessarily draw attention to himself but to keep the connection between him as an artist with the royal family. This is such an interesting painting and has so much going on. I bet there are a lot more hidden symbols to learn about in this painting.
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Interesting piece. I like how you dissected the piece, so to speak, because otherwise I would not have known who the people were and what was going on. It is a good piece for showcasing the importance of royal patronage of the arts and how influential they were in the art that was produced. It had not occurred to me, previous to this course, how significant the roles of churches/religion and royals were in the art eras.
Aesthetically, my first thought when I looked at this piece was “Ack, I’m so overwhelmed! What is happening?” However, after reading your thoughts on the piece and taking a second look at the aspects you highlighted, I was able to see the details and beauty in the piece. Great post!
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This is the first time seeing this painting and I did enjoy searching for the tiny details, however I can’t say that it is a piece I would find myself immediately drawn to for some reason. The reflection painted in the mirror on the back wall is impeccable! I also am drawn to the rectangular shape that is most likely the light shining into the room. I find it an interesting tid-bit that this was painted as a depiction of the artist’s own studio- very interesting!
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I think that this painting is absolutely magnificent. I especially think that him placing the king and queen inside of the painting, without the normal gaudy appearance and the painting focusing on them, is what makes this painting special. Overall, I like the facial expressions in this painting. It draws me into the painting and makes me chuckle as I look at it. To think that it seems like a real event, from your statement, is not a far off idea, actually. I can see how you got to that and like that you analyzed it this way. If you want some cool little fun facts, here is a link!
http://mentalfloss.com/article/68209/14-things-know-about-velazquezs-las-meninas
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Love the post, very in-depth. I definitely did not notice the reflection of the King and Queen at first- it looks like a painting. There are a lot of little important details that you could miss unless you really look. You said “Velázquez makes himself a symbol of the relationship between royalty and art” however I think it is less of a homage to the royal family and more of a “I have a close relationship with the royal family” fame. It is such a good piece and very well done! Great lighting and shadowing.
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This is an interesting painting in that it is very simple. Paintings in this era began to really depict people doing what people do, and royalty of course, could not be left out of that. There are many paintings of peasants going about their lives, doing lower and middle class things, but how do you portray that with royalty? I think this painting approached the answer. It is not as busy as many of the paintings of the lower class, but depicts a still frame or royal life, which of course, isn’t as busy. I notice maybe a portion of tenebrism, but it isn’t very dramatic. It is interesting that Velasquez uses the window light to focus the attention in his painting. This makes it sort of natural and not a forced use of light focus. The rest of the room is indeed quite dark. Great post! Very informative. Your analysis was helpful in picking out the details.
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I like this piece because it is different because the artist is in his own painting. I also like how this painting shows so many people at different angles, the people in the background and using the mirror to show the reflection of the King and Queen is very creative. After doing some research there seems to be some controversy over what story this painting is telling. Some think that the King and Queen are posing for a portrait and the princess walks in to see the progress. This would explain why the painter is in his own painting. The other theory is that the painter was supposed to paint the princess and the reflection is showing the Queen and King checking in on their daughter. Which theory do you think best fits the painting?
http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/art/painters/las-meninas
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I absolutely love this painting. I think it’s incredibly fascinating to look at–it’s not too busy, but it has enough detail to keep the eye bouncing from one corner to another. I particularly like the allure of the man in the doorway–who was he? How is he significant or how does he relate to the rest of the people focused on in the painting? Why was he standing in the background? It might be something interesting to further research. Great post!
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