Art historian Marina Khaikina and psychoanalyst Andrey Rossokhin examine the painting and tell us what they know and feel. What for? So that, agreeing with them or not doing this, we are more clearly aware of our own attitude towards the picture, the plot, the artist and ourselves.
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Meninas 1656 (Prado Museum, Madrid). From Spanish, the name of the painting is translated as “maid of honor”, and it depicts the artist’s studio in the royal palace of Alcazar, in Spain. The five-year-old Infanta Margherita with her retinue went to watch Velazquez paint a portrait of her father, Philip IV, and mother, Queen Marianna (their figures are visible in the mirror). The infanta is surrounded by maids of honor, a dwarf, a dwarf, a nun, a courtier and a dog. The size of the work is 318 × 276 cm, which gave Velasquez the opportunity to paint figures in human height.
“We are not spectators, we are participants in the action”
Marina Khaikina, art critic: “Velasquez came up with a trick: he transferred the figures of the royal couple from illusory to real space, and the audience – vice versa. Indeed, where is the king and queen, and where are we, the audience? Outside the canvas or inside it? It is on us that the dwarf’s gaze is directed, and Velasquez himself is looking in our direction.
The dog sniffed the air, as if it sensed the presence of strangers, which means that they noticed us, they know about our presence, they know that they are being watched. This is the value of the viewer for the artist, a conversation with him – and there is the most important thing in this picture. Velazquez “let” the viewer into painting, and this discovery changed the whole concept of art.
There would be no “Menin”, there would be no Goya, no Cezanne, no Magritte, no art of the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries in general.
For me, Las Meninas is a picture about the art of painting and optical illusion, and also about the significance of art.
Velázquez brought a new dimension to painting – time. Everything that happens in the picture is happening only here and now and will end a second later. The infanta will take a drink from the hands of the maid of honor, the marshal, who froze, turning around in the aisle, will disappear, and the king and queen will immediately follow him …
The artist allowed us, the audience, to catch this moment, to catch the movement of time. We look at what is happening in the workshop. But the artist also looks. Here he is both the object of observation and its subject. For me, Las Meninas is a picture about the art of painting and optical illusion, and also about the significance of art.
Can you imagine how highly Velasquez appreciated his craft to dare to put a self-portrait in the picture along with members of the royal family? And this is in the conditions of strict etiquette and strict hierarchy of the Spanish court! In the eyes of the audience of that time, this meant the highest recognition.
“Creativity conquers incest”
Andrey Rossokhin, psychoanalyst: “First of all, the picture gives me anxiety because of the dark background, which takes up a lot of space. I even feel hopeless. It would seem, why, because Velazquez offers us such a bright, pacifying image of a lovely family with a young, flourishing infanta in the center.
The artist paints a portrait of King Philip IV with his wife, and the girl looks at her parents. Why did Velázquez choose to portray them this way?
Understanding anxiety is difficult without knowing the details of the story. The fact is that Philip married his 15-year-old niece, who was also the bride of his suddenly deceased son. That is, the king entered into an incestuous relationship. The children who were born in this marriage quickly died, and Infanta Margarita was at that time their only child.
And no matter how proudly she stands, we understand that the father does not need her, but the son, the heir. Velazquez, whose studio was located in the royal palace, perfectly felt this atmosphere of horror and hopelessness associated with incest and punishment for it. And, perhaps, that is why he unconsciously depicted the royal couple not together with everyone, but reflected in the mirror.
Before us is a family that cannot be looked at directly. Incest is so terrible that we can only stay alive if we see the spouses through the mirror. This feeling is enhanced by the presence of the dog, which, like a sphinx, lies motionless and with its eyes closed, despite the fact that the dwarf shoves its leg – as if it really were petrified.
It turns out that Velasquez is so confident in himself that he challenges the gods of Olympus
I also see a reflection of this hidden horror in a girl who begins to feel her growing up, her significance, but is doomed to fall a victim of incest, like her mother (which happened: she later married her uncle).
And in this sense, the connection between the girl and the marshal don José Nieto, who is standing in the doorway, is very important. They are the only ones in the picture shown in bright light, and this emphasizes their connection. The man, as it were, hangs over the girl. He will not be her husband, but his appearance and posture hint at her fate.
Finally, the artist himself, Velázquez, draws my attention. His figure largely dominates the picture, he has a very proud, lively look. With his participation, he seems to overcome the atmosphere of incest, bringing a creative (healthy) beginning to this picture.
It is not immediately clear that the two paintings that hang in the background depict the ancient Greek gods, Athena and Apollo, who punish those who dared to compete with them in the arts. It turns out that Velazquez is so confident in himself that he challenges the gods of Olympus.
That is, on the one hand, the artist tells about the fate of the dynasty, which is dying because it defied human nature and the prohibitions of society. On the other hand, he himself challenges the gods. And creativity wins. Because it gives birth to a truly living thing, in contrast to incestuous relationships.
Diego Velazquez (1599–1660), an outstanding Spanish portrait painter, representative of the Golden Age of Spanish painting.