Las Meninas, 1656
Diego Velázquez
Oil on canvas · 318 x 276 cm
Velázquez paints himself painting the royal family, and maybe us too.
Velázquez paints himself painting, the little princess and her maids around him, the king and queen glimpsed only in a far mirror — and we stand exactly where they must. This dazzling game of who-watches-whom is among the most analysed paintings ever made.
What you're looking at
The largest object in the room is the back of a canvas, and we never see what is on it. Velázquez stands beside it looking out at us, which puts us where the king and queen must be standing — and they appear, small and blurred, in the mirror on the far wall. The brightest thing in the painting is not the princess but the open doorway behind, where a chamberlain pauses on the stairs. The red cross of the Order of Santiago on Velázquez's chest was added later, after the honour was granted in 1659.
On a Frame TV
Portrait, about 6:7. The clean crop would lose the ceiling, and the height of that room is doing a great deal of the work, so use the matted file. Deep browns with a few bright accents — a dim-room picture, and one that rewards a screen big enough to make the far doorway legible.
Museo del Prado · Visit it in Madrid →
- 4K master file (3840px+)
- Samsung Frame TV–ready crop
- Phone wallpaper crop
- Printable art card
Public domain · one .zip, no sign-up
In Las Meninas you are standing where the king and queen stood →
More like this
Other works in the collection, starting with Diego Velázquez.
