Las Meninas: Is This The Best Painting In History?

There are perhaps few

painting

s in the

history

of the visual arts that require as much analysis as Diego Velázquez's "Los Menins" (or "Flippin's Family IV"). Although the artist was at the end of his life when he painted the masterpiece we are talking about, he was at the peak of his creativity. Therefore, he skillfully transferred all his talent, experience and thoughts to the canvas. At the time, Velázquez was a chamber painter working for King Philip IV of Spain, a position he held for over thirty years. He was the favorite painter of the Philippines by birth, he painted his portrait many times and both his salary and rank gradually increased.

The artist, who assumed the position of palace administrator, also decorated the great Alcázar of Madrid with his works. It is not surprising that for his masterpiece, Velázquez himself specially assigned the place he knew

best

in the palace: his workshop decorated with works that he personally selected. It is currently difficult to see what these

painting

s represent, but it is known that attention was paid to spatial compatibility and the selection of these works is not coincidental. But more on that later... First, let's consider the big picture: many details are visible; Perhaps the first to notice the girl, Margaret Theresa.

The king's only surviving son. Or maybe you see a mirror with a king and queen reflected in it. Or the first, 6 of 9 main characters are in the spotlight, as if they are looking at you from the background of the frame. This element alone gives the painting a feeling of unpredictability, as if you have frozen the moment... Velázquez depicted a moment in which some of the figures seem to have seen something and become distracted. These 3 people still don't realize... The little princess's eyes only look in that direction. The spontaneity in the depicted scene attracts the viewer, the entire composition of the painting is interesting.

Each figure represented in the group is unique. How did Velázquez place what in

this

group of 11? Similarities and contrasts are created in unusual ways, including the mirror image of the king and queen. This makes the eyes move with more detail on the canvas. The first point of interest is the double and triple groups in the drawing. Each piece, except the Prince, forms a pair. Female and male dwarfs (short figures), two attendants standing behind, a girl bowing and a courtier standing in the hall behind, the king and queen in the mirror and the girl bowing to Velázquez himself and offering to drink the prince.

Each of these binary figures is made up of a woman and a man. The distinctive accent is that of the prince who is alone in the center of the scene. However, the images can also be divided into three groups: the prince and two attendants, the dog and two dwarfs, the two palace officials and the man in the hallway, the artist and the couple in the mirror. Two of the ternary group contain a dual and a triple form, and all are represented on the same horizontal surface. This group of 6 also expands the volume of the painting, creating a three-dimensional image.

The gaze moves from Velázquez in the foreground to the palace official in the background, as both are dressed in the same black robes and are in line with the doors behind. The courtiers (servants) are represented at the same level as the reflection of the king and queen in the middle part, where if we draw an imaginary Z axis along the entire painting, a depth will appear that is not noticeable at first glance. It's fascinating... What many people don't know is that the double and triple motifs are also pre-established in the frames on the back wall.

A mirror between the two large canvases above and the two door frames. The frames of the trio below are aligned with the prince and his two attendants, the gaze naturally moving from the king and queen to his daughter. But, at the same time, the gaze moves from the mirror to the right, to the illuminated hallway where the officer is standing. This illuminated rectangular section is the same size and on the same line as the mirror. In fact, the brightness of the hallway differs from the bright image of the little princess and therefore attracts relatively little attention.

These three elements of the "menins" are the main focal points. Unlike Da Vinci's The Last Supper, where all the figures are represented around Jesus, The Menin is ambiguous, leaving the viewer torn between various "centers of gravity." It is clear why Velázquez, who was a court painter to the royal family, did not focus exclusively on the royal couple and their daughter. But what is the meaning of the back corridor? There was a long debate about the mirror on the wall. Which side exactly reflects the fall? According to some critics, it is a natural reflection of the king and queen facing each other, as if the artist had put the viewer in their place.

But a careful analysis from another perspective shows that another side is reflected here. Menin's fading reflection is not here, but right here, in the illuminated doorway in the hallway on the right. What does

this

mean? In other words, those whose pictures are drawn are not standing in front of the mirror, but in front of the door. In the mirror they are not reflected directly, but rather the image that falls at a certain angle is reflected. And that angle reflects the Menins from an aspect that is not visible to us: the canvas on which Velázquez worked.

Now, let's go back to the two paintings above, as we mentioned earlier. These are the works of Velasquez's idol, Peter Paul Rubens. Both reflect similar stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses. In the painting on the right, the mortal Marsyas competes with the god Apollo to play the flute. On the left, the goddess Athena competes in weaving with the mortal Arachne. In other words, two races are represented between humans and gods. Marsyas is defeated and Arachne is victorious, but in the end both are punished by the gods. Because they don't understand the divinity of fighting artistically. These stories also apply to "Menins", because it is also a painting about a painting.

In Velázquez's time, painting was not at the same level as poetry and music. "Menins" with all their brilliant effects are among the most beautiful examples of fine art, which are either a divine revelation or the result of a lifetime of experience. All this passes through the heart of the mirror, the vanishing point, the multicentric focus... Velázquez says to his audience: "Look what my art is capable of"... And to the kings: "Not the environment, nor to your reflection in the mirror, but to the most beautiful image of yourself: my gaze on my canvas". "Menins" is one of the most magnificent achievements of the era.

And the power of influence is infinite. It is said that Philip IV frequently visited Velázquez's workshop just to see him work. In any case, "Menins" is able to reflect its meaning even after 360 years. In fact, when looking at this painting at any age, one gradually becomes convinced that one is witnessing one of the most fascinating scenes inherited from the Middle Ages... Thank you for looking :)