Las Meninas

Velázquez’s celebrated court painting stages a moment in Madrid’s Royal Alcázar, where the Infanta Margaret Theresa appears with her attendants, while the artist himself works at the easel. Its use of a mirror, shifting viewpoints, and subtle light creates a complex meditation on representation and power, making it one of the most studied works in Baroque art.

Painted by Diego Velázquez in 1656 for King Philip IV, Las Meninas remained in the Spanish royal collections until it was transferred to the Museo del Prado in 1819, where it is on permanent display.