The painting was originally known as ‘La Familia’ (The Family) when Diego Velázquez, a leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age, painted it in 1656, at the royal court of Spain. It was later renamed ‘Las Meninas’ (The Maids of Honour), oil on canvas, (125.2 inches × 108.7 inches) when the painting joined the collections of the Museo Del Prado in Madrid where it is still displayed.

Unlike other artists of his time Velázquez always represent his patrons (King Philip IV of Spain) at the centre of his work. The main character of the painting is a five-year-old princess, Infanta Margaret Theresa, in a beautiful dress who is gazing at the viewers and a complex network of relations established throughout the canvas. This painting illustrates the role of the subject-object representation to the level of a triangular relationship between the painter, his models and the viewers.— M.I.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, May 24th, 2015

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