Checked content

File:Velazquez-Meninas.jpg

Refresh file.svg This file has been superseded by File:Las Meninas, by Diego Velázquez, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg. It is recommended to use the other file. Please note that deleting superseded images requires consent.

 new file

Summary

Artist
Title Las Meninas
Date 1656 or 1657
Medium oil on canvas
Dimensions 318 × 276 cm (125.2 × 108.7 in)
Source/Photographer www.oneonta.edu - "Las Meninas"
Permission
( Reusing this file)
This is a faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
Public domain This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.
This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.

The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain, and that claims to the contrary represent an assault on the very concept of a public domain". For details, see Commons:When to use the PD-Art tag.
This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain.

Please be aware that depending on local laws, re-use of this content may be prohibited or restricted in your jurisdiction. See Commons:Reuse of PD-Art photographs.

Metadata

This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details may not fully reflect the modified file.
JPEG file comment VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y

(b. 1599, Sevilla, d. 1660, Madrid)

Las Meninas 1656-57 Oil on canvas, 318 x 276 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid

This is a composition of enormous representational impact. The Infanta Margarita stands proudly amongst her maids of honour, with a dwarf to the right. Although she is the smallest, she is clearly the central figure; one of her maids is kneeling before her, and the other leaning towards her, so that the standing Infanta, with her broad hooped skirt, becomes the fulcrum of the movement. The dwarf, about the same size as the Infanta, is so ugly that Margarita appears delicate, fragile and precious in comparison. On the left in the painting, dark and calm, the painter himself can be seen standing at his vast canvas. Above the head of the Infanta, we see the ruling couple reflected in the mirror.

The spatial structure and positioning of the figures is such that the group of Las Meninas around the Infanta appears to be standing on "our" side, opposite Philip and his wife. Not only is the "performance" for their benefit, but the attention of the painter is also concentrated on them, for he appears to be working on their portrait. Although they can only be seen in the mirror reflection, the king and queen are the actual focus of the painting towards which everything else is directed. As spectators, we realize that we are excluded from the scene, for in our place stands the ruling couple. What seems at first glance to be an "open" painting proves to be completely hermetic - a statement further intensified by the fact tbat the painting in front of Velázquez is completely hidden from our view.




--- Keywords: --------------

Author: VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Title: Las Meninas Time-line: 1601-1650 School: Spanish Form: painting

Type: portrait

Find out more

Through Schools Wikipedia, SOS Children's Villages has brought learning to children around the world. SOS Childrens Villages works in 133 countries and territories across the globe, helps more than 62,000 children, and reaches over 2 million people in total. If you'd like to help, why not learn how to sponsor a child?