Las Meninas (Spanish for Maids of Honor, 1656) is Spanish painter Diego Velazquez's best known, and most discussed, masterpiece. The work of art was completed while Velazquez(1605-65)was the court painter of Philip IV, king of Spain. Depicted in this masterpiece are the 5 year old daughter of King Philip IV and Queen Mariana, the Infanta (Princess) Margarita, the Infanta's two maids of honor, two court dwarfs, the court's duenna and quartermaster who stand in the background, a man who has yet to be identified, a mastiff dog, and Velazquez himself who is standing to the infanta's right in front of a huge canvas and looking straight ahead as if watching people watch him and the others.
The King and Queen, Felipe IV and Maria de Austria (1634-1696) are reflected in the mirror at the back of the room, leading to a series of extraordinarily complex spatial relations.
Las Meninas is an incredibly beautiful and complex masterpiece which, through the years, has stirred a lot of discussions and arguments concerning space, time, reality (and unreality) and illusion.
The above videos present Las Meninas in gorgeous 3-Dimentional space. They are both narrated in Spanish so I apologize in advance if you don't understand what's being said. The images, however, are really beautiful and engaging so I don't think too many folks will mind. Enjoy!
