Velazquez's Las Meninas

Hi everybody, today we must choose a work of art and talk about it. Personally, I don’t have a favorite piece of art, but I can tell you about an important masterpiece, that has survived many centuries in the memory of an entire country.

“Las Meninas" by Velazquez was painted in 1656, when he was 57 years old.  Velazquez was a very important artist of the Spanish Golden Age, and currently is considered one of the most important Baroque artists. "Las Meninas" is a Royal Family portrait of the king Philip IV; however is very special, because the family is not in session posing in a classroom to be portrayed: the kings are portrayed in the reflection of a mirror, and her daughter, the Infanta Margarita, is in the foreground, being attended by her servants and clowns.

 This work is part of the paintings of Velazquez's mature period. There is a play of lights and shadows that organize the construction of the space. This painting features at least two independent light sources. The most important focus is the light in front of the princess and her group, where she has the most outstanding of all. The second source of light is the strong backlight of the open door at the bottom front where it cuts the figure of José Nieto that creates a great sense of depth.

The chiaroscuro is one of the main characteristics of Barroque (sometimes called Tenebrism). This type of illumination can look theatrical, and the representation can look a lot more atmospheric. I like this type of illumination, because the objects and the figurates are stylized, sensual and realistic. “Las Meninas” marked a great milestone in Spanish art, and introduced some very interesting lighting effects… for example inspired Goya, who also painted at the Spanish court, and many other Baroque painters.