Las Meninas

Las Meninas is a 1656 oil painting by Diego Velázquez depicting Infanta Margarita and her attendants in the Spanish royal court. Its layered arrangement includes the painter, a mirror reflecting the king and queen, and figures looking beyond the canvas.

Diego Velázquez: Diego Velázquez was a Spanish painter and court artist to King Philip IV. He depicts himself at work inside the painting, linking the artist to its courtly scene.
Philip IV of Spain: Philip IV was king of Spain from 1621 to 1665 and a major patron of the arts. He is reflected in the painting and ruled the court it portrays.
José Nieto Velázquez: José Nieto Velázquez was a palace official who served as chamberlain and supervisor of the royal tapestry works. He stands in the open doorway at the rear, a striking point of depth and light.
Las Meninas (Picasso series): Las Meninas is a series of paintings by Pablo Picasso made in 1957, reinterpreting Velázquez’s composition. Picasso’s variations show how the original composition could be transformed without losing its recognizable structure.
The Family of Charles IV: The Family of Charles IV is an 1800–1801 royal group portrait by Francisco Goya. Goya also places the painter within a royal group portrait, but with a different staging and historical court.
Infanta Margarita Teresa: Infanta Margarita Teresa was a Spanish princess and daughter of Philip IV and Mariana of Austria. She occupies the central focus of the group portrayed in Las Meninas.
Mariana of Austria: Mariana of Austria was queen consort of Spain as the wife of Philip IV. She appears with Philip IV in the mirror’s reflection.
María Agustina Sarmiento de Sotomayor: María Agustina Sarmiento de Sotomayor was a lady-in-waiting to Infanta Margarita Teresa. She kneels beside Margarita and offers her a drink in the scene.
The Order of Things: The Order of Things is a 1966 book by Michel Foucault on the historical organization of knowledge. Foucault opens the book with an analysis of Las Meninas and its relations of representation.
The Arnolfini Portrait: The Arnolfini Portrait is a 1434 oil painting by Jan van Eyck depicting a couple in an interior. Its convex mirror also expands a painted room’s implied space, but within a private domestic scene.

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