Las Meninas

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/las-meninas

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the artist?Diego Velázquez
2. What is the date created?Circa 1656
3. What is 'Las Meninas' about?It is a painting by Diego Velázquez that shows a royal family and many people in a palace room, including the princess, her ladies, a dwarf, a jester, and the king and queen in a mirror.
4. Why does the mirror in the painting matter?The mirror shows the king and queen looking back, making the viewer feel like they are standing where the royal couple is, so the viewer becomes part of the scene.

Meta-commentary: A commentary about commentary, or in this case, art that comments on art itself.
Infanta: A title given to the daughters of the reigning monarch of Spain or Portugal.
Mise en abyme: A technique where a picture contains a smaller copy of itself, creating a sense of infinite regression.