Investigating the Genius of “Las Meninas” by Diego Velázquez
By: Priscilla Indrayadi
Tags: Artist, Fine Art, Art History, Art, Painting

Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas, 1656.

Everything is happening seems to be the perfect explanation of what the painting above seems to encapsulate. Las Meninas, painted by Spanish master, Diego Velázquez, has been known as one of the most analysed and criticised artworks in history due to its realistic features and complex perspective. Apart from retaining much analyses and reaction, this famous life-sized painting “is no doubt Velázquez’s most remarkable and most haunting masterpiece. It hits one’s senses like nothing else, and [we] do not grasp why” (Jacobs). What makes Las Meninas so interesting is the overwhelming mystery behind the essence of the painting, that surely does not show at first glance. However, the longer one stays and stares, the more drawn he or she will be to the painting. As a result of its complex attitude, plenty of artists have done appropriations of the work, including Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Francisco Goya, whom was directly and heavily influenced by Velázquez’s works. Until today, just as Velázquez were influenced by many painters before him, his works and style have undoubtedly also influenced many artists.

The Spanish culture and history had a huge impact on Diego Velázquez, which had also influenced his many important works. Spanish art was largely influenced by the Italian Renaissance period in the sixteenth century in terms of style, technique, complex compositions, and heavy lighting. Many artists, including Velázquez, visited the neighboring country of Italy to study art from Italian masters (DonQuijote.org). Subsequently, artistic values continued to develop in the seventeenth century, which is also known as the Golden Age of Spanish culture. Accordingly, Spanish painters and artists started to become famous due to their personal artistic styles and technical skills. More on Velázquez, his journey as a painter began in 1611, and it was believed that he spent a short time studying with Francisco de Herrera, the Elder — a Spanish painter and engraver who marked “the transition from Mannerism to Baroque.” (Encyclopædia Britannica).

Velázquez’s later expansive and exclusive career began when he was requested by the court to his first commission to paint a portrait of King Philip IV (Wolf). Velázquez’s influences by the Italian Baroque art is clearly demonstrated in Las Meninas, as it uses the same technique and has the same style as common Baroque paintings. Similar to Italian Baroque, Las Meninas relays an emotional and psychological feel to the audience, has dramatic contrasts between the light and dark, and has a more abstract composition of the subjects (McKay).

The meaning Las Meninas translates as ‘The Ladies in Waiting’ (Jacobs). The first thing that can be noticed from the painting is that everything is static. All the figures seem to be frozen — the stares and gestures show that everyone is “focused on the presence outside the frame” (Jacobs), which is the audience. This is what draws people into staring at the painting — the fact that it seems like the center of the attention is not the subjects in the painting, but the audience instead, which is staring back in the steady motion whom are responsible for the enigma.

Furthermore, the setting of Las Meninas is inside a room of the royal palace of King Philip IV of Spain. But what is really interesting about the painting is the reflection of the two figures in the mirror of the back wall. It is most likely that the figures are King Philip IV and Queen Maria Theresa. The depiction of mirrors was common in paintings during that time, resembling paintings like Jan van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait. However, Las Meninas was one of the first that offers “a different view of what is contained in the frame” (Jacobs), as the reflection in the mirror contains subjects that are not in the space outside the mirror. Marco Carminati, an art professor, quotes that “Velázquez seems to want to involve [the audience] in a refined intellectual game in which what appears real turns out to be an illusion” (Jacobs).

People often question what Las Meninas is about, whether it is about the king and queen, if it is a self-portrait of Diego Velázquez, or whether it is about the static silence, yet captivating action of the subjects in the painting. These three ideas are all included within the painting, hence, why Las Meninas is overwhelming indeed. Thus, another important element of Las Meninas that seems to draw attention is the subjects within the painting. The first person that everyone sees is without a doubt, the famous Infanta Margarita, which was a regal and beautiful child dressed in the “resplendent finery” of her station (Jacobs), her skin seems to be bright and glowing, along with the shiny and glossy dress that she is wearing. The scattered and unusual composition of the subject matter, like the subjects not looking at one spot, can be found in various works after Las Meninas, such as; The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit by John Singer Sargent, and The Family of Charles IV by Francisco de Goya.

John Singer Sargent, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882.

On the left hand-side of the painting is Diego Velázquez; him and his canvas take a huge space of the whole piece. Velázquez is holding a palette and a brush, and he seems to be at work. What he is working on, no one knows, but some suggest that he is painting what in front of him, which might be the king and queen. Some people have also concluded that Velázquez seems to be working on Las Meninas, as the size of the painting “almost coincides with the actual size of Las Meninas,” and that “not one individual or double portrait on such a large scale is known to exist in all the painting of the period” (Jacobs 24). He gives off an atmosphere that invites the audience to stare back at him, and wonder what he is trying to say or what he is thinking. Velázquez’s own figure in the painting inspired Francisco de Goya to paint his own portrait in The Family of Charles IV.

Francisco de Goya, The Family of Charles IV, 1800–1801.

One last important thing on Las Meninas is that Velázquez invites the viewers to almost step into the painting, but at the same time, Velázquez is also ignoring the viewers. Everything is going on within the painting without any audience involved; Velázquez painting whatever it is he is painting, the princess staring aimlessly at whatever it is she is staring, and everyone else doing whatever it is they are doing, without minding the audience looking at them. In a sense, Las Meninas is fascinating due to its focus on the audience and the food for thought it carries rather than the painter’s own definition of his creation.

For hundreds of years, Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas has become almost like a legacy. Until now, it is regarded as one of the most analyzed and influential works due to Velázquez’s bold observation and use of space and arrangements. For a royal portrait, Las Meninas definitely differs from the others, because everything is happening all at once in this painting. Starting from the infamous Infanta Margarita, standing right in the center, glowing with her brilliant dress that reciprocates her innocence and beauty, to the two reflections in the mirror. There are so many elements in this painting that interests and influenced different artists, resulting in them creating reinterpretations of the painting. One might suggest that what have impacted Velázquez as a painter have also impacted the artists’ appropriations. Nonetheless, Las Meninas continues to inspire artists all over the world with its complexity and the feeling that it gives to the viewers.

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