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

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

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

Na prvi pogled, ova vam se slika ne mora učiniti naročito posebnom,

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

ali zapravo se radi o najanaliziranijoj slici u istoriji umetnosti.

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

Zove se "Las Meninas" ili "Mlade plemkinje"

painted by Diego Velázquez in 1656,

i naslikao ju je Dijego Velaskez 1656,

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

a ona oslikava scenu iz života sa španskog kraljevskog dvora.

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

Lepo odevena dečja princeza odbija čašu vode koju joj nudi sluškinja,

while a dwarf teases a dog.

dok patuljak zadirkuje psa.

A second dwarf stands next to them,

Drugi patuljak stoji kraj njih,

while the artist himself pauses at his canvas.

dok sami slikar prestaje da slika po platnu.

Two more people whisper in the background,

Još dva čoveka šapuću u pozadini,

while a third appears to be exiting the room,

dok treći kao da izlazi iz prostorije,

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

a zašto i ne bi kad izgleda da se malo šta dešava?

Even the dog looks bored.

Čak kao da se i pas dosađuje.

But look more closely.

No pogledajte pažljivije.

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

Dvoje ljudi čiji odraz vidite u zamućenom ogledalu u pozadini,

easily missed at first glance,

koje je lako prevideti na prvi pogled,

are none other than King Philip IV and Queen Mariana,

su niko drugi već kralj Filip IV i kraljica Marijana,

seemingly changing the scene from a simple depiction of court life

čini se kao da menjaju scenu iz običnog oslikavanja života na dvoru

to that of a royal portrait.

u kraljevski portret.

And with this piece of information,

A s ovom informacijom,

we can begin to understand far more about the painting

možemo početi da razumevamo sliku daleko bolje

and why it has captivated viewers for centuries.

kao i to zašto je vekovima opčinjavala posmatrače.

First, there's the historical context.

Prvo, imamo istorijski kontekst.

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

Kad su "Mlade plemkinje" naslikane krajem vladavine kralja Filipa,

the Spanish Empire was in a period of decline,

Špansko carstvo je bilo u periodu opadanja,

having suffered defeat in The Thirty Years War,

doživelo je poraz u Tridesetogodišnjem ratu

as well as economic and political difficulties.

i prolazilo je kroz ekonomske i političke poteškoće.

The King himself had also suffered misfortune,

Samog kralja je pratila zla kob,

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

izgubio je i prvu ženu i jedinog naslednika prestola pre ponovne ženidbe.

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

Ali slika zamračuje njihovu borbu da obezbede hranu za svoje domaćinstvo.

Even the monarch's advanced age is concealed

Čak je i monarhovo poodmaklo doba skriveno

through the blurring of the mirror.

zamagljenim ogledalom.

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

U geometrijskom središtu platna,

brightly illuminated by the light from the window,

jarko obasjanom svetlošću s prozora,

in the Infanta Margarita Teresa,

je infantkinja Margarita Tereza,

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

kraljevo jedino priznato dete u tom trenutku.

Her glowing and healthy appearance

Njena blistava i zdrava pojava

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

je idealizovan pogled na budućnost carstva koje se muči.

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

Međutim nije jedino infantkinja u središtu slike.

Through the clever use of perspective,

Pametnom upotrebom perspektive,

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

kao i slikanjem dela u prirodnoj veličini na platnu od 276 × 318 cm,

Velázquez blurs the boundary between art and reality,

Velaskez zamagljuje granice između umetnosti i stvarnosti,

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

stvarajući doživljaj trodimenzionalne slike u koju možemo da uđemo.

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

Linija između plafona i zida se spaja sa otvorenim vratima,

further creating the perception of the painting as a physical space

dodatno stvarajući doživljaj slike kao fizičkog prostora

seen from the viewer's perspective.

iz posmatračeve perspektive.

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

U tom smislu su publika i stvarni svet u fokusu,

underlined by the three figures looking straight at the viewer.

što je naglašeno trima figurama koje gledaju direktno u posmatrača.

But there is still another focal point.

Ali tu je još jedna žiža.

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

Linija koju obrazuju lusteri vodi do središta zida u pozadini,

to the mirror reflecting the royal couple.

do ogledala u čijem je odrazu kraljevski par.

And its positioning relative to the viewer

A njegova pozicija, koja zavisi od posmatrača,

has led to radically different interpretations of the entire work.

dovela je do radikalno različitog tumačenja celokupnog dela.

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

U odrazu ogledala su možda kralj i kraljica dok poziraju za svoj portret

or is it reflecting the canvas?

ili je u njemu samo platno?

And what do we make of the fact

I šta da radimo sa činjenicom

that Velázquez never painted the royal portrait implied here?

da Velaskez nikad nije naslikao kraljevski portret koji je ovde obuhvaćen?

Could the painting actually be depicting its own creation instead?

Da li slika zapravo predstavlja sopstveni nastanak?

With the incorporation of the mirror into his work,

Uključivši ogledalo u svoje delo,

Velázquez elevated the art of painting

Velaskez je uzvisio slikarsku umetnost

from its perception as a simple craft

od njenog doživljaja kao prostog zanata

to an intellectual endeavor.

do intelektualnog pregnuća.

With its three competing center points,

Svojim trima konkurentnim centralnim tačkama,

"Las Meninas" captures the contrast between the ideal,

"Mlade plemkinje" hvataju kontrast između idealnog,

the real,

stvarnog

and the reflected worlds,

i sveta u odrazu,

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

održavajući nerazrešenu tenziju među njima koja priča složeniju priču

than any mirror can provide.

od bilo kog ogledala.