“The Legend of Las Meninas”. To what extent can Velazquez’s painting be considered as a philosophy of art?

What do we think of when we hear the word legend? More importantly, can we apply it to a piece of 17^th century art?  Velazquez’s Las Meninas, 1656, is a visually stimulating, carefully calculated yet complex piece, which has been established as a “philosophy of art”. Since its exposure in the Museo Del Prado which opened in 1819, it has become a subject of continuous debate amongst art historians, as to its interpretation of subject matter, critique of both portraiture and group portraiture, composition and its unfolding commutative techniques. It has been noted for its precise methodology. However more importantly, as the “Apex of Velazquez’s achievements”, eventually becoming famous for its influence on later pieces by modern artists such as Picasso and Salvador Dali.  By looking at these different elements of the paintings success, I will determine whether in painting the Las Meninas, Velazquez did achieve the notion of a “Philosophy of art” within a painting.

By looking firstly at the paintings visual techniques and pictorial mechanisms Velazquez used in the piece, it will become evident why such a complex piece of art has gained such high status in western art, over such a large time period. Velazquez himself used the painting to show his social status, after all he was the Court painter and Curator of King Phillip IV’s, given reasonable responsibility in his role. Velázquez soon became widely respected for his work within the field of painting and management of the Prado’s collection, which is said to still be influenced by Velazquez’s curatorship.[1] Of course, the painting very much respected throughout Spain, very much so in the 19^th century, “(Las Meninas)...deserves to be regarded and protected as the most precious jewel of (Spanish) painting”, Narciso Sentenach[2]. This shows the extent of the master piece status people had placed on the piece. Now, by looking at Velazquez’s use of reality, illusion, composition, mystery and portraiture, we can begin to comprehend this notion of an amalgamation of artistic themes in a single piece of art. When we look at the piece, we see eleven faces looking back at us, some would say it is a complex group portrait, or it may also be perceived as many singular portraits all serving their unique purpose within the painting. In the centre we see Philip IV’s five year old daughter, the infanta Margarita[3], with two ladies in waiting at either side of her, with the one to her right, Maria Agustina Sarmiento de Sotomayor, attending to her with a drink on a tray. To the extreme right of the piece, stand two dwarfs, a female German named Maribarbola and to her left, an Italian named Nicolas Pertusato looking down at a rather elegantly painted Mastiff. In the middle ground to the right stands the princesses chaperone that is said to be in conversation with a bodyguard who is painted in shadow. In the far background we can see the Queen’s chamberlain looking into Velazquez’s studio; where the painting is set. To the middle left of the painting, stands Velazquez himself, working on a painting but of what we don’t know, could it be the Las Meninas? This leads us on to Velazquez’s use of mystery and illusion within the painting, which is a fundamental aspect of its relationship with the spectator and its legendary reputation.

The most famous critique of the piece is centred on the viewpoint of the spectator, and this is because of the portrait in the background which is rather ambiguous, in being that it could be a reflection of the King and Queen whom are being painted by Velazquez and the scene we look at is their family watching them being painted, or in fact it could be a framed portrait. This leads us to believe that we must be standing next to the King and Queen. If in fact the image is a reflection. This composition is a common debatable point amongst art historians, which ultimately makes us question art and its capabilities to rouse a debatable response from the spectator. The fact that Velazquez was able to do this in this way, by creating such mystery and illusion, it is therefore considered a theology of painting for other artists to be educated and create new works from. Las Meninas is surely considered one of the fundamental paintings in western art, much so, that in the 19^th century it was proclaimed the “philosophy of art” by Sir Thomas Lawrence[4]. But what has made the painting such a legend? Here I will look at the factors contributing to the paintings high prestige and legacy. Firstly, if we look towards the later 20^th century, in the early modernistic schools of art, we can see that Las Meninas had a direct influence among artists themes and techniques, namely Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.

Picasso first saw the Las Meninas in 1895, when he was just fourteen years old. But in years to come he was to create his series of variations amounting to forty-five paintings plus thirteen related works. Picasso indeed recognised Velazquez as an old master of realism, but as the creator of cubism; he saw to paint within his own traditional style, creating full sized interpretations as well as smaller singular portraits. The one work from Picassos’ series, which is most faithful to Velazquez’s composition, is in fact the first painting of the series Las Meninas, after Velazquez I, 17 August 1957. The first thing we notice is the large figure of Velazquez, larger than any other of the figures. It is interesting how he has used a strikingly similar composition, but has managed to manipulate shapes as well as the light and shade in order to create something in a sense, unique to his style. The subject of the painting most influential to Picasso was the infanta. In Picasso’s first piece, we can see a distinct liking of the two; even though the comparison is quite uncanny. We know this aspect had a substantial influence upon Picassos work for the rest of the series; the infanta appeared in fourteen other variations, but as a single portrait. Salvador Dali, a fellow Spaniard of Picassos, is the next artists to create variations on the Las Meninas. It is well documented that Dali saw the variations as a challenging competition between himself and Picasso. He began with painting Velazquez painting the infanta Margarita with the lights and shadows of his own glory, 1958.  This is an interesting choice of subject to paint, as it centres on the infanta; one of Picassos continuing subject throughout this series. As with Picasso, who created a substantial amount of work on the Las Meninas style and influence; America saw James McNeill Whistler creating paintings of a similar style. If we look at the artist in his studio 1865-1866, we can see that the focus is on the artist, who is painted in a mirror image reflection pose of Velazquez in the original Las Meninas; his gaze is also fixed upon us as he paints. This suggests that the Las Meninas was fundamentally influential to some prestigious 19^th century through to 20^th century art around the world.

When considering the Las Meninas as a legendary masterpiece in western art, it is important to consider the regional prestige. Furthermore, this will help to consider the extent of the pieces’ “philosophy of art” status in various countries, namely 19th century Britain and America. Also known as “The maids of honour”, in Britain it was only considered a master piece in which many other artists were influenced, plus only as a “master piece in waiting”. Things started to change in the British opinion of Las Meninas through influential events in the 19^th and 20^th century. It was a combination of post World War 1, the Tate moderns’ gallery exhibition of Picasso’s 1957 variations series; British museums played a major part in exhibiting most of the art from Spain[5]. As well as critical research and writings, British artists and more importantly the British public recognised its influential prestige, as a masterpiece which displays uniqueness of context as well as portrayal of artistic excellence. It is important to recognise the British artist’s attitude to the piece, as it was them of course who created Las Meninas influenced works thereafter. As for America, Velazquez was well known to the Americans in the latter half of the 19^th century. Velazquez, as a painter in general had a major impact upon the Americans, whom in the late 19^th century were experiencing social hardships as a result of nationalism and the growing industrial manufacturing system. Americans stated that his work was a factor in developing American culture through tough times; though claiming his artwork to be a milestone in the “grand tradition of European art history”[6].

When we think of the term legend, we think of a tale or moment in time that has a tie to a historical event or location, which is believable but is not necessarily believed. So it is our choice as to whether we can validate Las Meninas legendary status from evidence shown throughout this essay. From looking at different aspects of Las Meninas successes, it is evident that Velazquez did paint a legendary piece of complex art, worthy as an example in arts philosophy and of course its influence upon later artists. The piece is certainly appreciated for its accumulation of Velazquez’s painterly and compositional techniques, as well as the use of mystery, illusion and portraiture. With some 19^th century critics noting it as “photographic”[7] in regards to naturalism, this is all Velazquez could have wanted in such a work, and I agree that it has captured a discussion in a painting. Conclusively, it would seem that Las Meninas has gained a high philosophy of art status, as it is still talked about, people go to see it, to experience the grandeur of it, study it, and it is generally praised for being a masterpiece.

Bibliography:

S.L, Stratton-Pruitt, Masterpieces of western painting, Velazquez’s Las Meninas, Cambridge University Press 2003.

David Howarth, The invention of Spain: cultural relations between Britain and Spain, 1770-1870. Manchester University Press, 2007. Pg190

Articles:

Velázquez and Las Meninas, Madlyn Millner Kahr, the Art Bulletin, Vol. 57, No. 2, 1975, pp. 225-246. 

Websites:

http://www.all-art.org/baroque/velazquez8.html

http://www.museupicasso.bcn.cat/meninas/img/art_dali_1.jpg (Dali Image)

http://exterior.pntic.mec.es/fhua0001/tutelageo/Viajetoledo/velazquez-las-meninas.jpg (Velazquez Image)

http://location-barcelone.perfecttravelblog.com/picasso-las-meninas%5B1%5D.jpg (Picasso Image)

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[1] ^{http://www.all-art.org/baroque/velazquez8.html}

[2] ^{S.L, Stratton-Pruitt, Masterpieces of western painting, Velazquez’s Las Meninas, Cambridge University Press 2003. Pg. 8.}

[3] ^{Velázquez and Las Meninas, Madlyn Millner Kahr, the Art Bulletin, Vol. 57, No. 2, 1975, pp. 225}

[4] ^{David Howarth, The invention of Spain: cultural relations between Britain and Spain, 1770-1870. Manchester University Press, 2007. Pg190}

[5] ^{S.L, Stratton-Pruitt, Masterpieces of western painting, Velazquez’s Las Meninas, Cambridge University Press 2003. Pg.57}

[6] ^{S.L, Stratton-Pruitt, Masterpieces of western painting, Velazquez’s Las Meninas, Cambridge University Press 2003. Pg.80}

[7] ^{S.L, Stratton-Pruitt, Masterpieces of western painting, Velazquez’s Las Meninas, Cambridge University Press 2003. pg.89.}