A VISUAL GUIDE THROUGH PRADO MUSEUM
LAS MENINAS
ROOM 012
Floor 1
Velázquez
You are looking at a guide about the gaze. In these paintings, the main idea is the human need to search for an identity. This is done so we can be seen and perceived by others. At the same time, these works show how a person’s public image and their real identity rarely match.
This specific painting, "Las Meninas", shows us a major shift in the history of art. It turns the audience into participants instead of mere spectators.
Did you know that...
Curiosity 1
A very interesting detail in the painting is the small clay pitcher (búcaro) that one of the ladies-in-law is offering to Princess Margarita. In those days, young women often ate small pieces of this clay. They believed it could make their skin paler and help with certain illnesses, like the one the Princess supposedly had (Albright Syndrome).
Curiosity 2
Another important detail is the red cross on Velázquez’s chest. It was not there when he first finished the painting. Velázquez received the Cross of the Order of Santiago a year later and decided to add it. However, some theories suggest that it wasn't the painter who added it, but King Philip IV himself after Velázquez passed away.
Curiosity 3
This work is more than just a portrait. Velázquez used it to show that painting is an intellectual art, not just manual work (craftsmanship). We can see this in the mythological paintings hanging on the back wall of his studio. These paintings represent stories where the human mind and creativity are more important than simple physical work.
Painting audio guide:
Audio made by Miguel Catalán highschool students Álvaro M. and Daniel C.
Audio transcription:
“The scene takes place in the princess room, a room in the Alcázar of Madrid, the former place of the kings of Spain. This painting is a group of portrait featuring several figures. The Infanta Margarita, daughter of the king and the queen, is center looking at us with an expression of awareness. Like she is superior to us and we don't belong to this same social class and that irritates her. On either sides of the Infanta Margarita are her two meninas, or servants. Isabel de Velasco is standing and María Agustina is kneeling, offering a small jug of water to Margarita. In the right corner are the jester Mari Bárbola and Nicolasito Pertusato, next to the large mastiff that he is bothering. Behind them are two lady guards, an ancient office of the court of the queen and infanta that no longer exists. In the background, in the doorway, is José Nieto, the queen's chamberlain, who organized the palace chambers and finally, on the left, Velázquez paints himself with a clothing of the order of Santiago while painting a large painting and looking out at the spectators. Regarding to the technique used by Velázquez, he is a true master of perspective and realism. He proves it by being able to do a painting like this: one that creates the illusion of depth in this painting through the door in the background and the reflection in the mirror, drawing you into the painting because of its level of detail and realism. At the time, you are observing all the other details in the painting like you're part of it. To finish, our conclusion lead us to say that this painting is not only an incredible work of art, but also a representation of perspective and realism never before seen in Spain. It's Velázquez who incorporates this new style, creating such incredible things as this, which can captivate you by just looking at the painting. Lose yourself in it and feel part of it. That's why it's one of the most important and special paintings in the history of Spain."
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