The Arts and State Power
In this enigmatic painting from 1656 called Las Meninas (“Maids of Honor”), the Spanish artist Diego Velázquez depicts the Spanish king Philip IV’s five-year-old daughter, Margarita, with her maids of honor, chaperone, bodyguard, two dwarves, and a large dog. The painter himself is working at a large canvas on the viewer’s left side of the room. In the background on the left, a mirror reflects the upper bodies of the king and queen, who are presumably watching the scene. Which of these many figures is the real center of the painting? Like most monarchs of the time, Philip employed court painters like Velázquez to paint their portraits and contribute to their prestige. Ten years later Margarita would marry Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, who was her uncle. (Detail, Las Meninas, by Diego Velazquez [1599–1660]. Prado, Madrid, Spain / Giraudon / Bridgeman Images.)