Diego Velázquez
Las Meninas
1656
Diego Velázquez's 'Las Meninas' ('The Maids of Honour', 1656) stages the court painter himself at his easel — looking out at the picture's unseen royal viewers, whose reflection appears in a mirror on the far wall — while the five-year-old Infanta Margaret Theresa, her maids, and a mastiff dog fill the centre of the room. The painting redefined what a royal portrait could be: a philosophical game about vision, social rank, and the act of painting itself. It is the undisputed masterpiece of the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Exhibition Venue
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