Initial response
Introduction:
This piece of artwork is called Las Meninas by Velazquez and it was painted in 1656. I chose this piece of artwork because when Mr. Keys explained to me the idea of the painting and what it actually is, I was fascinated about how creative and unique this art work is.
Visual:
When I First saw this artwork I didn't realize or notice what the painting was. I simply thought that it was a painting that had children and an artist on it with no story. But after an explanation from Mr. Keys I realized that the painting was more than just children and and artist painted on. The first word that come to my head when seeing this painting was dull and dark. The first thing I noticed was the a child with two maids by her side.
Emotional:
The painting makes me feel like I'm special or important because the artist ion the mirror is painting me on the canvas.
Diego Velazquez' monumental "Las Meninas" ("Ladies in Waiting"), measuring 10'5" x 9'5".
Contextual understanding
The Artist:
The artist for this fascinating piece is named Diego Velásquez who was a Spanish painter in Spain he lived4 between 1599 - 1660. Les Meninas was painted for the Spanish king at the time, which was King Philip IV of Spain. The location in the painting is an actual location in the palace of the King.
Wider Context:
It's message propounds authentic democratic principles. During 1656, when the painting was painted there was the Anglo-Spanish war. King Philip IV of Spain signed a treaty with Charles II of England. Also there was the Battle of Valenciennes, when the painting was painted in Spain. It was a battle between the Spanish troops and the French troops and Spain won the battle.
Association & Influences:
When he moved from Seville to Madrid, he changed his approach to painting in Madrid to portraits of royals and and the royal family. Diego's paintings were during the baroque period, which was a period of artistic style thats exaggerated motion, drama and tension. The style of the painting is naturalism. This painting is a portrait and a genre painting, but it could also not be a portrait because a portrait is a powerful person posing and being painted and this painting is not that. This is an informal painting and a genre painting, as it is showing us a day in the life of the artist in the studio. The painting gives us the real moment and life within the palace. The fact that Diego included himself in the painting shows his importance and value to the painting.
Formal elements
Subject Matter:
In this fascinating painting Diego shows us the Princess of Spain (Infanta Margarita) and she is looking put at the person being painted. Beside her there are two maids of honor, two dwarfs and a dog. Diego also painted himself in the painting, looking at the viewer/person who's being painted. At the back of the room there is a mirror at which the King of Spain (King Philip IV) and his wife are reflected. So Diego is painting the king and Queen in the canvas and it is being reflected. However, not all historians believe this to be true. The focal point of this painting is the princess as it is the first thing you see when you look at the painting because most of light is reflecting on the princess making her stand out more. Diego depicted the mirror at the back of the room. The painting does not tell a story but instead it reflects the King and Queen with the princess looking at them and Diego is painting them on the canvas with maids of honor beside the princess and two dwarfs and there are a couple of other paintings within the painting itself.
Composition:
The composition of Las Meninas at first glance may seem simple and straightforward, but a closer look at it reveals that it's has an extraordinary composition. The princess, maids of honor and dwarfs are arranged in a way like the shape of a triangle. The two people behind the dwarfs are speaking to each other and there is a man on the stairs looking into the room. The top half of the background is in black and dark brown and the bottom half of the painting is in bright colors. The light is coming from a window on the right side of the room. The two people behind the dwarfs are completely in shadows even though they don't have a big hight difference between the maid in the right and the dwarf and they have bright light reflected on them. The central object is the mirror reflecting the King and Queen and the fact it is on a dark wall/background makes it stand out with the light reflecting on it. The other paintings around the mirror are in dark colors to show they are not important, and that it's the King and Queen who are important. The painting is carefully designed and arranged as it is not the ordinary portrait of a King and Queen.
Colour and Mood:
The colors are used very smartly by having the top half of the background dark and the bottom bright. The fact that this painting was painted during the Battle of Valenciennes the dark colors in the background could represent the battle and the deaths then having the bright colures on the King, Queen and the princess showing that the they are going to win and giving hope. And having the brightest light and colour on the princess shows that she is the future of the country. The colors are mostly dark apart from parts of the clothing.
In this fascinating painting Diego shows us the Princess of Spain (Infanta Margarita) and she is looking put at the person being painted. Beside her there are two maids of honor, two dwarfs and a dog. Diego also painted himself in the painting, looking at the viewer/person who's being painted. At the back of the room there is a mirror at which the King of Spain (King Philip IV) and his wife are reflected. So Diego is painting the king and Queen in the canvas and it is being reflected. However, not all historians believe this to be true. The focal point of this painting is the princess as it is the first thing you see when you look at the painting because most of light is reflecting on the princess making her stand out more. Diego depicted the mirror at the back of the room. The painting does not tell a story but instead it reflects the King and Queen with the princess looking at them and Diego is painting them on the canvas with maids of honor beside the princess and two dwarfs and there are a couple of other paintings within the painting itself.
Composition:
The composition of Las Meninas at first glance may seem simple and straightforward, but a closer look at it reveals that it's has an extraordinary composition. The princess, maids of honor and dwarfs are arranged in a way like the shape of a triangle. The two people behind the dwarfs are speaking to each other and there is a man on the stairs looking into the room. The top half of the background is in black and dark brown and the bottom half of the painting is in bright colors. The light is coming from a window on the right side of the room. The two people behind the dwarfs are completely in shadows even though they don't have a big hight difference between the maid in the right and the dwarf and they have bright light reflected on them. The central object is the mirror reflecting the King and Queen and the fact it is on a dark wall/background makes it stand out with the light reflecting on it. The other paintings around the mirror are in dark colors to show they are not important, and that it's the King and Queen who are important. The painting is carefully designed and arranged as it is not the ordinary portrait of a King and Queen.
Colour and Mood:
The colors are used very smartly by having the top half of the background dark and the bottom bright. The fact that this painting was painted during the Battle of Valenciennes the dark colors in the background could represent the battle and the deaths then having the bright colures on the King, Queen and the princess showing that the they are going to win and giving hope. And having the brightest light and colour on the princess shows that she is the future of the country. The colors are mostly dark apart from parts of the clothing.
conclusion:
This piece of artwork is important for my own artwork because it inspires me to do something unique, difficult to understand and make the viewer really think about what is happening in artwork. The most important thing I have learned about the artwork is that it is not what you first see the piece is, it is more than what meets the eye and I learned from this that art does not have to be straightforward and simply understanding and art could be what you make it be. I'am in love with this painting because it has a meaning behind it and it is really powerful and something really extraordinary. My opinion of the piece changed so much after researching it and understanding it because at first I thought that it is a normal, nothing special piece but after researching it and really looking focusing on the painting clearly I find that the use of colour, the idea, the shapes and the people in the painting is all really different and complicating to do and to think about. I would like to intend to use the complicsaty of the painting and use in my own and make my piece something that someone won't understand straightaway and have everything on the painting for meaning and to represent something.