Why is this painting so captivating? - James Earle and Christina Bozsik

Translator: Sune Vilsted Østergaard Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

On first glance, this painting might not seem terribly special,

Ved første øjekast, ser dette maleri ikke ud til at være noget særligt,

but it's actually one of the most analyzed paintings in the history of art.

men det er faktisk et af de mest analyserede malerier i kunsthistorien.

It's called "Las Meninas," or "The Maids of Honor,"

Der hedder "Las Meninas, eller "Hofdamerne,"

painted by Diego Velázquez in 1656,

malet af Diego Velázquez i 1656,

and it depicts a scene in the life of the Spanish Royal Court.

og det viser en scene hos det spanske kongelige hof.

A well-dressed child princess refuses a glass of water from a handmaid,

En velklædt barneprinsesse nægter et glas vand fra en tjenerinde,

while a dwarf teases a dog.

mens en dværg driller en hund.

A second dwarf stands next to them,

En anden dværg står ved siden af dem,

while the artist himself pauses at his canvas.

mens kunsteren selv står ved sit lærred.

Two more people whisper in the background,

To andre visker i baggrunden,

while a third appears to be exiting the room,

mens en tredje ser ud til at forlade rummet,

and why wouldn't he when there seems to be so little going on?

og hvorfor skulle han ikke det eftersom der foregår så lidt?

Even the dog looks bored.

Selv hunden ser ud til at kede sig.

But look more closely.

Men kig nærmere.

The two people reflected in the blurry mirror at the back,

De to personer, der er reflekteret i det slørede spejl bagerst,

easily missed at first glance,

som er let at misse ved første øjekast,

are none other than King Philip IV and Queen Mariana,

er ingen andre end Kong Filip 4. og Dronning Mariane,

seemingly changing the scene from a simple depiction of court life

som ændrer scenen fra at være en simpel skildring af hoflivet

to that of a royal portrait.

til et kongeligt portræt.

And with this piece of information,

Og med det i mente

we can begin to understand far more about the painting

kan vi begynde at forstå meget mere om maleriet,

and why it has captivated viewers for centuries.

og hvorfor det har betaget betragtere for århundreder.

First, there's the historical context.

Først er der den historiske kontekst.

When "Las Meninas" was painted at the end of Philip's reign,

Da "Las Meninas" blev malet i slutningen af Filips regeringstid

the Spanish Empire was in a period of decline,

var det spanske imperium i tilbagegang

having suffered defeat in The Thirty Years War,

efter at være blevet besejret i Trediveårskrigen,

as well as economic and political difficulties.

og lidt økonomiske og politiske problemer.

The King himself had also suffered misfortune,

Kongen selv havde også lidt overlast

losing both his first wife and his only heir to the throne before remarrying.

efter at havde mistet både sin hustru og arving før han giftede sig igen.

But the painting obscures their struggle to provide food for their household.

Men maleriet skjuler deres kvaler for at give mad til deres husstand.

Even the monarch's advanced age is concealed

Selv monarkens sene alder er skjult

through the blurring of the mirror.

igennem spejlets tilsløring.

What we do see in the geometric center of the canvas,

Hvad vi kan se i lærredets geometriske centrum,

brightly illuminated by the light from the window,

oplyst af lyset fra vinduet,

in the Infanta Margarita Teresa,

er prinsessen Margarita Teresa,

the King's only living legitimate child at the time.

kongens eneste levende legitime barn på det tidspunkt.

Her glowing and healthy appearance

Hendes glødende og sunde udseende

is an idealized view of the struggling empire's future.

er en idealiseret fremstilling af imperiets skrantende fremtid.

However, the Infanta is not the only center of the painting.

Prinsessen er dog ikke maleriets eneste centrum.

Through the clever use of perspective,

Gennem en kløgtig brug af perspektiv,

as well as painting the work life-sized, on a 10.5 x 9 foot canvas,

såvel som at male værket i menneskestørrelse på et 320 x 274 stort lærred,

Velázquez blurs the boundary between art and reality,

tilslørrer Velázquez grænsen mellem kunst og virkelighed,

creating the sense of a three-dimensional picture that we can walk into.

og skaber et 3-dimensionelt maleri, som vi kan bevæge os ind i.

The line between the ceiling and the wall converges to the open door,

Linjen mellem loftet og væggen konvergerer til den åbne dør,

further creating the perception of the painting as a physical space

som igen skaber opfattelsen af maleriet som et fysisk rum

seen from the viewer's perspective.

set fra betragterens perspektiv.

In this sense, the audience and the real world are the focus,

I den forstand er publikum og den virkelige verden fokusset,

underlined by the three figures looking straight at the viewer.

fremhævet af de tre skikkelser, der ser direkte på betragteren.

But there is still another focal point.

Men der er stadigt et andet fokuspunkt.

The line formed by the light fixtures leads to the center of the back wall

Linjen skabt af lyset leder hen til centret af bagvæggen

to the mirror reflecting the royal couple.

til spejlet, der reflekterer kongeparret.

And its positioning relative to the viewer

Og dets position relativt til betragteren

has led to radically different interpretations of the entire work.

har ledt til radikalt forskellige fortolkninger af værket.

The mirror could be reflecting the King and Queen posing for their portrait,

Reflekterer spejlet kongen og dronningen, der poserer for portrættet,

or is it reflecting the canvas?

eller reflekterer det lærredet?

And what do we make of the fact

Og hvordan skal vi tolke det,

that Velázquez never painted the royal portrait implied here?

at Velázquez aldrig malede kongeparret, som det er antydet her?

Could the painting actually be depicting its own creation instead?

Kunne maleriet istedet skildre dets egen kreation?

With the incorporation of the mirror into his work,

Med inddragelsen af spejlet i værket

Velázquez elevated the art of painting

ophøjede Velázquez kunsten at male

from its perception as a simple craft

fra at være et simpelt håndværk

to an intellectual endeavor.

til en intellektuel bestræbelse.

With its three competing center points,

Med dets 3 konkurrerende midtpunkter

"Las Meninas" captures the contrast between the ideal,

fanger "Las Meninas" kontrasten mellem det idealle,

the real,

det reelle

and the reflected worlds,

og de reflekterede verdener,

maintaining an unresolved tension between them to tell a more complex story

og fastholder en uløst spænding mellem dem for at fortælle en mere kompleks historie

than any mirror can provide.

end hvad et spejl kan give.