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Lesson
Lesson 1. Velázquez, “Las Meninas”: composition and the mirror
Put the techniques of composition, light, and the mirror together, using one of the trickiest paintings in history.
A puzzle painting
Who Velázquez is really painting
Diego Velázquez, “Las Meninas” (1656, the Prado, Madrid) — an example of how everything we have learned works in a single painting.
The scene: the artist's studio in the palace. In the center is the little Infanta (princess) Margarita, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting (in Spanish, “las meninas”), dwarfs, and a dog. On the left, Velázquez himself stands at a large canvas, brush in hand — he is painting a picture. But what is he painting?
The answer is in the mirror on the far wall. In it, the king and queen are dimly reflected. So they are standing where we, the viewers, stand: the artist is painting their portrait, and we seem to have taken the royal couple's place. The Infanta and her entourage have come to watch the sitting.
The composition leads the eye masterfully: the Infanta's small, light figure in the center is the main focal point; light from a window on the right models the figures; in the depths, an open door with a man's light silhouette draws the eye further and creates depth. Here the mirror, as in van Eyck's painting, is the key that changes the meaning of the whole scene.
Lesson notes
Who Velázquez is really painting
Diego Velázquez, “Las Meninas” (1656, the Prado, Madrid) — an example of how everything we have learned works in a single painting.
The scene: the artist's studio in the palace. In the center is the little Infanta (princess) Margarita, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting (in Spanish, “las meninas”), dwarfs, and a dog. On the left, Velázquez himself stands at a large canvas, brush in hand — he is painting a picture. But what is he painting?
The answer is in the mirror on the far wall. In it, the king and queen are dimly reflected. So they are standing where we, the viewers, stand: the artist is painting their portrait, and we seem to have taken the royal couple's place. The Infanta and her entourage have come to watch the sitting.
The composition leads the eye masterfully: the Infanta's small, light figure in the center is the main focal point; light from a window on the right models the figures; in the depths, an open door with a man's light silhouette draws the eye further and creates depth. Here the mirror, as in van Eyck's painting, is the key that changes the meaning of the whole scene.