One of the most intriguing ideas about what is real and how it appears was painted by Diego Velasquez in 1656. It is surprising to find such a subject those times but I think and not just me it was the first time someone began to speak about that visually, anticipating what is normal now by using a camera. The painting appears to centre around La Infanta Margarita, aged 5, who is surrounded by her ladies in waiting (or meninas), the family dog and two dwarves. Whilst most people's attention seems to be on her, Velázquez has once again proved that those people normally kept 'behind the scenes' (like the princess' maids of honour), are also worthy of being painted. The fact that the picture is entitled 'Las Meninas' reinforces this. The Italian translation of the painting is "La famiglia reale"and we can note how different is from the other ones painting a royal family. To the left of Margarita we find Velázquez himself, paintbrush and easel in hand, poised in front of an enormous canvas. By including himself in the main part of the painting Velázquez is asserting his own position as an artist.
However, the scene does not stop there. The most intriguing part of the painting is the fact that Velázquez has chosen to include the King and Queen only by their hazy reflections in the mirror which hangs on the back wall. Velázquez cleverly plays with perspective here and hence blurs the clarity and obviousness in his painting. His purposeful elusiveness cannot fail to raise many questions. Primarily, who is he painting on the huge canvas which almost touches the ceiling?and who is the man next to the mirror looking at the scene? Michel Foucault wrote a book The Order of Things published in 1966 in French in which we can find the answers to the many questions about the painting and the reality as it appears.
However, the scene does not stop there. The most intriguing part of the painting is the fact that Velázquez has chosen to include the King and Queen only by their hazy reflections in the mirror which hangs on the back wall. Velázquez cleverly plays with perspective here and hence blurs the clarity and obviousness in his painting. His purposeful elusiveness cannot fail to raise many questions. Primarily, who is he painting on the huge canvas which almost touches the ceiling?and who is the man next to the mirror looking at the scene? Michel Foucault wrote a book The Order of Things published in 1966 in French in which we can find the answers to the many questions about the painting and the reality as it appears.
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