14 little-known facts about Velasquez's masterpiece Menina

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Diego Velazquez's painting "Meninas" is one of the masterpieces of the Prado Museum in Madrid. It would seem that absolutely everything is known about this famous painting of the 17th century. However, many art critics believe that the painting actually hides many secrets. For example, an encrypted self-portrait of the artist himself. Moreover, the self-portrait is not real, but ideal, in which the painter shows not how it is, but how he would like it to be in reality. In this review, we will lift the veil of secrecy over this beautiful canvas.

1. "Meninas" can be called a royal portrait

In the center of the picture is the Infanta Margarita Teresa, who, 10 years after the painting of Menin, will be proclaimed Empress, wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia and Hungary. Her reign lasted from 1666 to 1673, and Margarita died at the age of only 21. Although she has been depicted in many portraits, the Menin is the most famous painting.

2. In fact, the painting depicts the daily life of a young princess

Traditionally, portraits depict a person "in isolation" from the rest of the world. In this case, the maids are also depicted who constantly surrounded the young princess. The Meninas are everyday life at the Spanish court.

3. There is a king and a queen in the painting

Above the princess's head, it is easy to see a picture in a dark wooden frame, which depicts two people. These are the father and mother of Margatita, King Philip IV of Spain and his wife Marianna of Austria.

4. Velazquez portrayed himself in the picture

Despite the fact that Velazquez was the court painter of the king, it was a very bold step to paint himself in the Meninas. On the left, with a brush in his hand, is the artist himself.

5. Only one person in the picture remained unidentified

In the center of the picture are the king, queen, princess, and the artist. To the left of the princess (giving her a vessel with a drink) is the princess's maid of honor, dona Maria Agustina de Sarmiento Sotomayor, and to the right (in curtsey) dona Isabel de Velasco. Above her right shoulder can be seen the princess's mentor, dona Marcelo de Ulloa and the unknown guardadamas, who was obliged to accompany the Infanta everywhere (his name has been lost in history, but some modern scholars believe it could have been Diego Ruiz de Ascona). On the right are the permanent members of Margarita's entourage - the dwarf Maria Barbola, the dwarf Nicholas Pertusato and the princess's favorite mastiff (his nickname is also unknown).

6. The biggest mystery is what Velazquez really wanted to portray

Some scholars believe that the images of the king and queen, which seem to appear in the background, are actually displayed in the mirror, and the parents of the Infanta watched the process of painting the picture. Another theory claims that the royal couple is not in the field of vision of Velazquez, so he could not purposefully draw them, but in fact the princess and the artist are looking into a large mirror, the reflection in which allowed them to capture Margarita in one of their everyday moments.

7. "Meninas" - the view of the royal couple

It is not known whether this was actually the case, but Velazquez painted the picture as it would have looked from the perspective of the king and queen.

8. Few paintings have been honored daily by the king

Philip IV hung up "Meninas" in his private office, where he saw this picture every day.

9. The painting was changed after the death of the artist by order of the king

The king paid tribute to the talented artist after his death. In 1660, almost a year after his death, Velazquez was awarded the title of Knight of the Order of Sant'Iago. In the painting, the symbolism of this order is depicted on his chest, but the story of its appearance is unusual (initially this symbol was not there). This symbol appeared posthumously by order of the king. Some historians even claim that Leopold 1 painted the symbol of the order with his own hand.

10. Painting dimensions

The "Meninas" are simply huge - their size is approximately 3.20 x 2.74 meters.

11. "Meninas" were donated by the king to the museum

The Prado Museum in Madrid opened in 1819 to "show the world the meaning and glory of the art of the Spanish people." The Meninas are one of the most famous pieces in the museum's collection.

12. The name of the painting was changed

For the first time in the Prado Museum, the painting is mentioned under the name "Meninas" in the catalog of 1843. In 1666, during the inventory, the painting was named "Portrait of the Empress with Her Maids of Honor and Dwarfs". Then, after a fire in 1734, it was called "The King's Family".

13. "Meninas" made Velazquez famous 150 years after his death

The investment in the Prado paid off and made Spanish art popular in Europe during the 19th century. It was thanks to the "Meninami" that Velazquez became famous outside the Spanish royal court, among the general public. Subsequently, Velazquez became the inspiration for a new generation of artists, including the French realist painter Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, and the American founder of tonalism, James Abbott Whistler.

14. The UK has its own version of the picture

At the Kingston-Lacey Mansion in Dorset, there is a scaled-down version of the painting that has almost the same aura of mystery as the famous painting. It is unknown who wrote this line, or when it was done. Some scholars argue that the painting in Dorset belongs to the brush of Velazquez himself. Others argue that the painting was most likely later copied by an unknown artist.

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