Velázquez’s “Las Meninas” has taken its rightful place as one of the most fascinating artworks to analyze in the whole of Western painting. Scholars describe “Las Meninas” as an embodiment of art itself within a painting: It is the philosophy of art depicted on canvas
--Foucault
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Part of my theory on how this painting came to be is that Velazquez was tired of painting terrifyingly inbred Spanish royals and figured that the wide view might be best.
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I have no evidence that this was the actual reason other than previous Velazquez portraits:
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It’s one of a small handful of masterworks—the Berlin Nefertiti, les Demoiselles d’Avignon, David—that somehow make one look at the whole world differently. Standing in front of it at the Prado, you feel a kind of vibration, a power: those faces, that moment.
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The artist in the painting will surely take some artistic license with those kids.
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Is he looking out a window or into the mirror, weird their is another mirror opposite showing two figures, who have no shadow
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I've not seen the original, but seeing Picasso's variations in Barcelona was an unforgettable philosophical experience in it's own right.
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If anyone is interested: there's a truly fascinating podcast episode on "Not Just the Tudors" by Suzanna Lipscomb called "Velázquez and the Spanish Court" where among others this painting is analyzed, contextualized and put into perspective.
I was mesmerized while listening to it
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