Las Meninas

Las Meninas is a painting by Diego Velázquez (1599-1660), pintor de cámara of Philip IV, which represents the family of the monarch. It is a large canvas painted in broad strokes and oil that has dissolved, currently on display at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. In it, Velázquez demonstrated his ability to play with space, through the vanishing points and depths, and with light. In the foreground the Infanta Margarita is surrounded by her Meninas (the ladies-in-waiting), while at the bottom of the scene Philip IV and his wife Mariana de Austria are visible in the reflection of a mirror. This served Velázquez to imply to the viewer that the picture had to be read on three different levels: one in which the Infanta and her meninas are posing for the painter, one in which the rulers observe Velázquez painting, and another in which the same artist gives shape to the whole.