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

Museo del Prado

Madrid, Spain