A Contemporary Approach of Las Meninas

The present study is meant to underline the importance of afamous work from the baroque period, Las Meninas, made by the painterDiego de Silva y Velásquez who has become a source of inspiration forfuture generations of artists. Numerous modern and contemporary artistshave integrally or partially ”paraphrased” Velásquez’s composition byintercepting the portrait of revolutionary group for the time when it wascreated, extremely innovative regarding its compositional qualities and itshidden meanings which underlined the role and status of the artist in thecontext of a conservative society. Thus, the painting becomes the livingproof of the way in which the artist manages to overcome the limitationsof the social status of ordinary human beings, by portraying himself as aclose friend of the royal family and by opening, through this type ofrepresentation, an important chapter in the history of portraiture.