Diego Velazquez and "Las Meninas"
Diego Velazquez displayed Las Meninas, a painting from 1656, in Madrid. The image depicts Infanta Margarita, the daughter of Mariana and King Philip IV of Austria, and the name "Las Meninas" is a Spanish term for the Maids of Honor. The painting's richness and mystique make it stand out as a magnificent example of Spanish Golden Age art. Las Meninas permits audience members to freely engage with the art, particularly in relation to some of the divergent viewpoints it presents (Hickman, 97). Thus, the painting is essential in helping the audience comprehend the picture's emotional and intellectual depth. The paper thus intends to present an analysis of the various aspects of Velazquez painting of Las Meninas.
The Creation and Characteristics of Las Meninas
The painting was created in 1656 and is alternatively identified as The Family of Felipe IV. The dimensions of the painting entail a height and length of 318 and 276 cm respectively. The medium of the painting is oil while its support is canvas. The subject is scenery while its art movement entails baroque. The art is presently located in Madrid at the Museo Nacional Del Prado. The painting appears like a collection of the excellent parts of the earlier paintings of Velazquez. Similar to his previous paintings, the portrait is synonymous for the intense Caravaggesque chiaroscuro that is a notably somber and limited palette. The appearance of the painting is thus more of a photo-realism characterized by the outstanding free, loose, and unrestricted brushstrokes.
Composition of Las Meninas
The extraordinary and complex nature of its structure plays a significant role in ensuring that as a portrait it outstands the other paintings of its time. Even though the art may appear straightforward and simple at first glance, detailed inspection of the picture reveals its composition of outstanding intricacies.
The picture plan of Las Meninas appears symmetric whereby it is separated into a grid system of straight quarters and vertical sevenths. Additionally, the artist ensured separation of the canvas into various layers of depths. Las Meninas is amongst the paintings with the deepest and with the most carefully defined spaces amongst Velazquez paintings. Furthermore, the picture remains as the only Velazquez's painting whose ceiling of the room is visible to the audience.
The artist ensured the portrayal of the space of the room like a stage set through the arrangement of the seven layers of space at irregular intervals. The first tier, shallowest, commences with the projection of the canvas at the far left segment of the picture plane and comprises of the dwarf-kicking dog on the right side.
On the other hand, the following level encompasses the Infanta and her maids; the third level entails Velazquez, the bodyguard and chaperone, fourth comprises of the rear wall of the room while the fifth level includes Nieto's figure and the space beyond the open door. The sixth level, on the other hand, entails the area showing the reflection of the mirror while the seventh level shows the space that the reflection of the mirror implies. The seventh level thus illustrates the space beyond the picture plane whereby the Queen, King and the viewer stands.
Connections and Patterns in Las Meninas
There is the necessity for noting the need for a superb organization for the multi-figure compositions. Velazquez ensured success in instilling organization in Las Meninas through utilization of a combination of diagonal and curved lines. He thus provided the alignment of the info in the foreground along the X shape while placing the value of infant Margarita at the center thus stressing her significance. The child thus acts as the central point of the arrangement of Las Meninas.
Velazquez ensures the formation of one diagonal with the kneeling woman to the left of Infanta's left. The diagonal extends to the standing lady in waiting to the right and terminates with the bodyguard and chaperone on the background. On the other hand, the other diagonal commences on the left with Velazquez and continues through Infanta's head to the dog on the right.
The picture illustrates Velasquez masterful use of light and dark towards the further creation of order in the composition. He perfectly uses shadow and light to create a series of double arcs that plays a crucial role in the centralizing the Infanta. The first one above commences with Velazquez descending through the Infanta before its eventual rising to the Nieto in the contextual. The one below arises from the arcs of light visible at the foreground of Las Meninas.
Additionally, the way that the figures are arranged plays a crucial role in the creation of a pattern that further results in the organization of the composition. From the left it commences with Velazquez standing, followed by the Queen and King as evident from the mirror, then Nieto, female chaperone and eventually the bodyguard to the far right. The arrangement thus creates a rhythm of alternating man and woman with all the figures appearing above the Infanta thus symbolizing their protection. The fact that Velazquez presented the Infanta as almost pure white ensures that she stands out from the majority of the painting that entails tenebristic shadows.
Frames in Las Meninas
Velazquez ensured that Las Meninas is considerably a picture based on its framing and placement of its frames. The room that serves as the location of the image as well acts as the frame of the picture. The literal structures also occur in nature of the canvas to the left while the borders of the paintings are to the rearmost wall. The doorway serves as the context of Nieto while the mirror frames the King and Queen.
The most important structures are of interest due to their role in the provision of the compositional device. Besides Infanta, there are two crucial focal points of interest in the painting. The two coordinators play a major role in the creation of the push-to-pull effect. The mirror tends to give an illusion of recessive space hence pushing the audience out of the picture plane since it serves as a reflection of the area whereby the viewer is located (Wicks, 259). On the other hand, the open door invokes the viewer's imagination of the space beyond hence creating the pulling effects.
Emotion, Mood, and Tone Created by Las Meninas
Velazquez ensures avoidance of unbelievable idealism and ostentation in his paintings of the royal objects. He thus ensures success in instilling his sitters with kind of modern humanity and delight in depicting the different surfaces and textures that include the mirrors, glass, silk, and hair. Velazquez ensures integration of realism upon Las Meninas as evident in the interrupted actions of the personages. For instance, he portrays the Infanta in the process of turning her head while the littlest dwarf is teasingly kicking the dog that on the other hand docilely grimaces. The realism of the painting thus plays a crucial role in the creation of an atmosphere that is comparable to a snapshot.
Brushstrokes in Las Meninas
Observed from a distance, Las Meninas appears more realistic, and the composition is more like a snapshot. The realism impression of the artwork is attributable to the abstract and unrestrained nature of the brushwork adopted by Velazquez in the picture. From the close up it is challenging to distinguish the contours or shapes successfully. The surface of the image thus appears more of a dazzling portrayal of dancing and bright daubs of paint. The hasty application tends to highlight the reflection of light. Therefore, by standing too close to the portrait, it is challenging to interpret nor comprehend the brushwork presented by Velazquez in the artwork. Las Meninas is thus amongst the important paintings of Velazquez aimed at expressing the theme of art, reality, illusion, and creativity that characterized the artists of the golden art period. Furthermore, the artwork serves a crucial purpose of claiming for the nobility of the artists and the fine arts in general.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, the Spanish Golden Age served as a period of flourishing arts and literature in Spain. The advancements made regarding literature, architecture, and painting apparently concurred with the rising and falling of the Spanish Hapsburg dynasty. The increase of the Spanish Golden Age is thus substantially attributable to the commitment of the rulers towards addressing some of the crucial events that included inquisition and reformation.
Works Cited
Hickman, Rebecca. “Las Meninas.” School Library Journal, vol. 57, no. 1, Jan. 2011, p. 97. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&AN=57053962&site=ehost-live.
Wicks, Robert. “Using Artistic Masterpieces as Philosophical Examples: The Case of Las Meninas.” Journal of Aesthetics & Art Criticism, vol. 68, no. 3, Summer2010, pp. 259-272. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1540-6245.2010.01417.x.
Velazquez, Diego. George Konstantinidis: Las Meninas. Web. http://www.velazquezlasmeninas.com/ Accessed [03 May 2017]
