The Enduring Mystery of Velázquez’s ‘Las Meninas’

A detail of "Las Meninas," between 1656 and 1657, by Diego Velázquez. Prado National Museum, Madrid. Public Domain

Madrid is home to one of the world’s most renowned museums, the Prado. Its crowning jewel is Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez’s near life-size painting “Las Meninas.” Painted in 1656, this artwork is a key masterpiece in the art canon. Since its creation, it has provoked questions about illusion versus reality and art versus life. While definitive interpretation remains elusive, it continues to captivate viewers and spark artistic inspiration.

The baroque painter Velázquez (1599–1660) was born in Seville, Spain, a wealthy city in the early 17th century that functioned as a center of trade with the New World. At a young age, he was apprenticed to the area’s most important artist, Francisco Pacheco, and later married his daughter. Velázquez mastered and soon surpassed his teacher’s technique and was influenced by the Italian Caravaggio’s use of dramatic lighting and everyday models. During his early career in Seville, Velázquez painted religious scenes and bodegón (Spanish still-life) compositions.

Velázquez moved with his family to Madrid at age 24. His father-in-law had helped arrange for him to paint a portrait of the young Spanish king, Philip IV. The work was met with a royal reception of high praise. Velázquez was appointed court painter and rendered many likenesses of the king over the decades; Philip was so pleased that he allowed no other artist to paint him.

A portrait of Philip IV, 1644, by Diego Velázquez. Oil on canvas; 51 9/64 inches by 39 9/64 inches. The Frick Collection, New York City. Public Domain

The artist created a robust body of work memorializing the king, his successive queens, children, courtiers, and other prominent people, including the pope. In addition to portraiture, Velázquez’s repertoire included history painting and mythological stories. His position at court allowed him to study the royal painting collections. He was especially inspired by Titian. Velázquez also traveled to Italy to study art in situ and acquired works to add to his patron’s holdings.

The History of ‘Las Meninas’

"Las Meninas," between 1656 and 1657, by Diego Velázquez. Oil on canvas; 10 feet 5 13/64 inches by 9 feet 21/32 inches. Prado National Museum, Madrid. Public Domain

The complex composition “Las Meninas” was painted in the final years of Velázquez’s life. It is one of his largest paintings and exhibits his later style of brushwork. The title translates as “maids of honor” or “ladies in waiting.” At first glance, the subject is a group portrait of the Infanta Margarita, her ladies-in-waiting, two court dwarfs, a male attendant, and a large dog, all rendered with great naturalism. Despite the primness of sophisticated dress with wide panniers, the 5-year-old infanta and her entourage convey a charming informality in this snapshot of a scene.

The nuances to this beautifully painted scene contribute to its ambiguity. At the left is the artist himself standing before a large canvas. One wonders if he is in the midst of painting the Infanta or even “Las Meninas” itself. Closer inspection reveals another option—a mirror on the back wall reflects the faces of King Philip IV and Queen Mariana of Austria, the parents of Infanta Margarita. This leads the viewer to question whether they are the subject of the canvas within the painting or, perhaps, have stopped by the palace room in the the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, the setting of “Las Meninas.”

“The Arnolfini Portrait,” 1434, by Jan van Eyck. Oil on oak panel of 3 vertical boards; 32 9/32 inches by 23 27/64 inches. National Gallery, London. Public Domain

Scholars believe Velázquez likely knew of Jan van Eyck’s famous “The Arnolfini Portrait” and that it inspired his use of a mirror in “Las Meninas.” Van Eyck’s painting dates to 1434. Now part of London’s National Gallery’s collection, it belonged to the Spanish Royal Collection in the 17th century. The inclusion of a mirror in both paintings highlight the artists’ technical skill, imparts a mysterious quality to the narrative and makes the viewer wonder about the space beyond the composition. Furthermore, both pictures break the fourth wall by acknowledging the presence of the viewer.

The interplay of representation and illusion in “Las Meninas” are heightened by the figures’ different viewpoints. The artist, the infanta, and some of her attendants look directly at the viewer, who seems to share space with the king and queen due to their central positioning outside the scene. The painting’s perspective lines converge at a vanishing point of a figure on stairs in an open doorway with glowing light: It is the chamberlain Don José Nieto. Only the painting’s viewer sees him, and possibly the royal couple, if they are modeling for the mirrored portrait Velazquez is painting. The viewer’s eye continues to reverberate throughout the canvas due to Velázquez’s adept handling of light. The shadowy haze of the back area of the chamber mutes the framed pictures on the wall, but the foreground figures are strikingly lit from a window at right.

A detail of  the artist's self portrait, the reflection of King Philip IV and Queen Mariana of Austria, and Don José Nieto in the doorway in "Las Meninas," between 1656 and 1657, by Diego Velázquez. Public Domain

“Las Meninas” includes a rare self-portrait by the artist. Two years after the picture was completed, Velázquez was made a Knight of the Order of Santiago, a long-desired honor. The red cross of this office was later painted on his garment in “Las Meninas.”

The artist died in 1660, and in 1734, a fire destroyed the Alcázar. An estimated 500 works of art were lost, and while “Las Meninas” was damaged, it did survive and was restored.

Inspiring Generations

“The Family of Carlos IV," 1800–1801, by Francisco Goya. Oil on canvas; 9 feet 2 15/64 inches by 11 feet 9/32 inches. Prado National Museum, Madrid. Public Domain

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish artist greatly inspired by Velázquez. Goya’s “The Family of Carlos IV,” also at the Prado, is a group portrait of the Spanish royal family from 1800. It shows King Carlos IV, his wife Queen María Luisa de Parma, their children, and other family members. Akin to Velázquez in “Las Meninas,” Goya included himself at a canvas in the back left and looks out towards the viewer. The royals are depicted in the height of early 19th-century dress and jewels.  Goya portrayed them formally, but with subtly defined characteristics and familial affection.

In the late 19th century, the American expatriate John Singer Sargent painted one of his quintessential canvases, “The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit.” Completed in 1882, the work was directly inspired by “Las Meninas.” A great admirer of Velázquez, Sergeant copied his painting at the Prado during his first trip to Madrid. Sargent’s painting shows the four daughters of his friend, a fellow expat. It is now owned by Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts (MFA).

"The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit," 1882, by John Singer Sargent. Oil on canvas; 87 3/8 inches by 87 5/8 inches. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Public Domain

In 2010, Sargent’s painting was displayed in a special exhibition at the Prado alongside “Las Meninas.” The MFA wrote that Sargent’s painting “adapted Velázquez’s mysterious space, his dark subdued palette, and the manner in which his self-possessed princess directly confronts the viewer.”

Despite war, economic problems, and plague outbreaks in 17th-century Spain, this era is considered the country’s “Golden Age” for artistic output. Velázquez was the leading artist of the period, and his work inspired subsequent generations. The enigmatic “Las Meninas” transcends the conventions of portraiture and is a mesmerizing meditation on light, shadow, and reflection; imagination and reality; art and life.

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