Diego Velázquez - The ladies in waiting

Title: The ladies in waiting (Las meninas)
Artist: Diego Velázquez (1599-1660)
Date: 1656
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 318 × 276 cm

“Las Meninas” depicts a group of people in a large, decorated room of the Royal Alcazar of Madrid. At the center of the composition is the Infanta Margarita Teresa, the daughter of the King Philip IV and Queen Mariana, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting and other members of the Spanish Court. The artist Velázquez is on the side, seen painting on a very tall canvas. In the mirror at the back of the room, we see the reflection of the king and queen who must be posing for Velázquez as he paints them. The painting is innovative in that the viewer is an active participant in the painting, as if they too are being painted by Velázquez with everyone watching them.