Las Meninas Essay

In his analysis of Las Meninas (1665) by Diego Velázquez, Michel Foucault examines the nature and power of representation by exploring the relationship between the composition of space in the work and the spectator who views the work. Foucault argues that the painting is an example of representation in its purest form, largely basing his argument in the notion that Velázquez successfully represents Classical representation itself.
Foucault begins by describing the figure at the far left of the painting, who is in fact Velázquez himself, standing in front of a canvas that faces away from the spectator. He suggests that in this position, “[the painter] rules at the threshold of … two incompatible visibilities” (Foucault 4). In other words, because the spectator is granted the representation of the painter, but not what he is painting, the spectator is forced to guess the absent subject of the work by dictation of the artist. While Foucault argues that Velázquez holds power over

He notes that the mirror, in which the figures of Philip IV and Mariana of Austria are reflected, is “saying nothing that has already been said before” (Foucault 7). To elaborate, the mirror reflects nothing from the space of the painting that is already visible to the spectator, but in fact, places subjects outside of the painting into the representational space. Foucault suggests that although the royal couple can only be seen in the distant reflection of the mirror, their figures occupy a central position in the work. On the other hand, the figure bathed in light in the foreground of the painting, their daughter Infanta Margarita, can also be interpreted as the subject of Las Meninas. It is possible that Velázquez intended for the work to have multiple subjects, thus guiding the spectator through the events that are depicted, much like an author guides a