Las Meninas

"Las Meninas" is a 1656 painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age, held by the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Its complex, enigmatic composition raises questions about reality and illusion and sets an uncertain relationship between viewer and figure.

The painting shows the young Infanta Margaret Theresa surrounded by her entourage, with Velázquez himself at work on a large canvas at the left and the king and queen reflected in a mirror at the back of the room. Called "the theology of painting", it is regarded as one of the most important paintings in Western art history.