Art History IIThe Baroque

Velázquez and Spain

Diego Velázquez, court painter to Philip IV, painted Las Meninas (1656), a puzzle of looking in which the painter, the princess and a mirror all watch us.

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Diego Velázquez (1599 to 1660) trained in Seville, where he painted kitchen scenes with strong Caravaggio-like light. In 1623 he became painter to King Philip IV in Madrid and stayed at court for the rest of his life. Two trips to Italy loosened his brushwork: up close his paintings are quick, separate strokes; from a few steps back they turn into silk, lace and skin.

Looking closely: Las Meninas

Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas, 1656. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Describe. In a tall room of the royal palace in Madrid, the five-year-old princess Margarita Teresa stands at the center, with two maids of honor (the meninas), two court dwarfs, a dog, a chaperone and a guard. At the left, Velázquez himself stands at a huge canvas whose front we cannot see. A small mirror on the back wall shows the king and queen, and a man pauses in a lit doorway. Analyze. The light from windows at the right falls on the princess, the focal point. The upper half of the canvas is dark and empty, which pushes the figures down and forward. The space goes deep, back to the doorway. Several figures look straight out, at us. Interpret. If the mirror reflects the king and queen, they stand where we stand. The picture turns the viewer into part of the scene.

Key idea

Velázquez, court painter to Philip IV, painted Las Meninas (1656), a picture about looking: the painter, the princess and a mirror all look out toward the place where we stand.

Why it works

Velázquez stood close to the king and wanted painting to be seen as a noble, intellectual art, not a craft. Las Meninas shows the painter at work beside the royal family, in the palace, as an equal participant. Its puzzles make the viewer think about how a painting is made and seen.

Common mistake

People think Las Meninas is a simple group portrait. Look again: we cannot see what Velázquez is painting, and the mirror may reflect the king and queen standing in our place, or the painting on his canvas. Scholars have debated who is being painted, and where the viewer stands, for centuries. Say what you see, then give the possibilities.

Worked example: Where is the king?

The mirror on the back wall shows King Philip IV and Queen Mariana. Name two possible explanations.
  1. A mirror shows what is in front of it.
  2. So the king and queen may be standing in front of the scene, where the viewer is, posing for Velázquez.
  3. Or the mirror may reflect the front of the big canvas, on which Velázquez is painting them.
  4. The painting does not settle it, and scholars still disagree.

Answer: They may stand in our place, or the mirror may show the canvas; the question is still debated.

Juan de Pareja

Diego Velázquez, Juan de Pareja, 1650. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

In Rome in 1650 Velázquez painted Juan de Pareja, his assistant, who was enslaved in his household. That year Velázquez signed a document promising Pareja his freedom after four more years of service; Pareja was freed in 1654 and became a painter in his own right. The portrait was shown in Rome to great praise. Its gray-green palette, the few quick strokes of the lace collar and the direct gaze show Velázquez's late, free style.

Philip IV's court was one of the great patrons of the age; much of its collection is now in the Prado. Velázquez also painted the king, the royal children and members of the court, including court dwarfs, with the same dignity.

Practice

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Sources and further reading

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