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In Las Meninas (1656), Diego Velázquez paints himself at a huge canvas beside the five-year-old Infanta Margarita, daughter of King Philip IV, and her maids of honour. A small mirror on the back wall reflects the king and queen, as if they stood where we stand looking at the picture.

Diego Velázquez / Museo del Prado

Art

The story behind the card

Las Meninas means 'the maids of honour', after the two young women attending the princess. Velázquez shows himself wearing the red cross of the Order of Santiago, an honour for Spanish nobles, but he was admitted only in 1659, three years after the painting was made, so the cross was added later; a legend says the king painted it himself. Scholars still debate what is on the huge canvas we see from behind: many think it is a portrait of the king and queen, whose reflection appears in the mirror, while others suggest it is Las Meninas itself. The painting has been in the Prado in Madrid since the museum opened in 1819.

Türkçe oku
Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas'ta (1656) kendini, Kral IV. Felipe'nin beş yaşındaki kızı Prenses Margarita ve nedimeleriyle birlikte kocaman bir tuvalin başında resmeder. Arka duvardaki küçük ayna kral ile kraliçeyi yansıtır; sanki ikisi, tabloya bakarken bizim durduğumuz yerde duruyordur.

Las Meninas “nedimeler” demektir; ad, prensese hizmet eden iki genç kadından gelir. Velázquez kendini, İspanyol soylularına verilen bir onur olan Santiago Tarikatı'nın kırmızı haçıyla resmetmiştir; oysa tarikata ancak 1659'da, tablodan üç yıl sonra kabul edildi, yani haç sonradan eklendi. Bir söylenceye göre haçı bizzat kral çizmiştir. Tuvalin yalnızca arkasını gördüğümüz için Velázquez'in orada neyi resmettiği hâlâ tartışılıyor: birçok uzman aynada yansıyan kral ile kraliçenin portresi olduğunu düşünürken, bazıları Las Meninas'ın kendisi olduğunu öne sürüyor. Tablo, 1819'da açılışından bu yana Madrid'deki Prado Müzesi'nde.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Las Meninas
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