The original Las Meninas was painted in 1657 by Diego Velazquez, a Spanish painter of the Golden Age. Velazquez thrived in the era when painting alternative of modern day photography. A reserve of the aristocracy, the painter served King Philip IV producing Las Meninas as a commemoration of the activities in his studio. He was a major figure in the baroque art whose characteristics include a portrayal of flamboyant lifestyle and extravagance in aesthetics. Worth noting, for example, is Las Meninas’ 318cm by 276 cm dimensions which confirm that it is indeed larger-than-life in matters size. It can be found at Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain.
Velazquez’s Las Meninas is an oil-on-canvas painting portraying the princess, Infanta Margaret Theresa and her attendants who include the maids of honor, the dwarfs and a dog. Velazquez also painted himself among other two people in the middle ground whereby he is on the left painting on a large canvas. The background portrays high walls of ornate architecture and an open door. Velazquez’s attempt to represent the historical event as realistically as possible makes him an inspiration to modern day realists.
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Pablo Picasso, a twentieth century painter, created his own version of Las Meninas in 1957. Also made of oil on canvas, the artwork is slightly smaller measuring 194 cm by 260 cm. Although Picasso has faithfully reproduced every subject in the original, his painting is in abstract form whereby out of the ordinary shapes nave been used to closely represent their subject’s outline (Snyder & Cohen, 1980). This modern style is referred to as cubism and it revolutionized art in the modern world of photography. Picasso’s painting, on top of being abstract, is defiant on proportion whereby the painter is magnified to reach the high ceiling. Whereas Velazquez immortalized himself through realistic representation, Picasso exalts the artist in his painting by making him tower over other people.
References
Picasso, P. (1957). Las Meninas.
Snyder, J., & Cohen, T. (1980). Reflexions on "Las Meninas": Paradox Lost. Critical Inquiry, 7 (2), 429-447. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343136
Velazquez, D. (1656) Las Meninas.
