OpenTube

This Might Be The Greatest Painting Of All Time

The Last Layer

45,611 views

Las Meninas - Diego Velázquez, 1656
Oil on canvas. 318 x 276 cm. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Some paintings you glance at. This one has kept the world staring for almost four hundred years.It looks simple at first. A young princess, her attendants, a painter at work. But the longer you look, the more it starts to unravel. Nothing here is where it seems to be, and everyone in the room is watching something you cannot see. Philosophers and artists have all tried to explain it. None of them fully could.

So what do you think Las Meninas is really about? The princess, the king and queen, or the painter himself? Let me know in the comments.
So what do you think Las Meninas is really about? The princess, the king and queen, or the painter himself? Let me know in the comments.

Music: Winter Waltz by Scott Buckley https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/
License: Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0
Free Download / Stream: https://links.al/GoM
Music promoted by Audio Library: https://links.al/youtube

20 Comments

@susankeeton1636 2 months ago

These paintings are amazing. They look like photographs - so impressive and made with just a brush.

@snuggle-up-a-gus 2 months ago

I can't help feeling, due to his wish to be nobility, that this is reflecting that we are all noble in a way. You are part of the royal family, there is nobility in you, and he is painting you.

@7upac 1 month ago

i remember studying this painting in my art history class in university. that course is what made me fall in love with old paintings. this is no exception

@theflyingdutchman1432 2 months ago

I have a friend who has this on his wall, now I can have a fun conversation with him, thank you 🙏

@paulroige 2 months ago (edited)

Interestingly, the monarchs "appear" 3 times on this painting: in the mirror, "in front of" the painting and on the canvas being painted by Velázquez. Yet, even though all three appearances are kind of accepted, they're not real. The only real characters are the ones the Velázquez of the painting is not painting a portrait of. It's basically a full movie contained in one single image. I can imagine the kings standing right in front of it and seeing their loved ones, their servants and even themselves in the mirror and think yup that's my people...

@duhdinduh 2 months ago

I've known this painting since childhood. Now I see it for the first time with different eyes, with a deeper ubderstanding. Amazing materpiece!

@sarahproctor9924 2 months ago (edited)

The last time I saw this, it brought me to physical tears! I couldn’t understand why I cried but the tears flowed, and I let them!

@3Storms 2 weeks ago

It's the perspective of the king sitting for a painting. That's why it's cool.

@MsFoland 2 months ago

Thank you, one of my ever favourite paintings.

@MAGH1O1 2 months ago

IMHO, He's posing proudly as if declaring himself above all.
His presence forced another powerful man to leave the scene.
He framed and reduced the king and queen to mere reflections.
He's dwarfed the rest of those present by painting dwarfs near the child princess; one looking straight at the royals.
Basically he's declaring himself as the main character setting the scene and possibly the decisions in the palace.

@Musecrypt1 3 weeks ago

I can understand why someone would call this the greatest painting of all time. There’s something about the composition and attention to detail that makes you want to keep looking at it. Every time I look closer, I notce something I missed before. Truly incredible work.

@marysalmon1592 2 months ago

I believe I need to listen to this again it’s quite a successful story for the painter because it expresses everything he was about and what was important to him being recognized for all this incredible work as a painter in an artist

@MjamNovak 2 months ago

What if it is a testament that the man in the doorway was the true father of the princess….the color that surrounds him is the same color in the dress and complexion of the princess. They are both two focal points in the painting….

@jayg5748 11 days ago

I love this channel! Thank you for sharing this with us!

@Olga-yx7hb 1 month ago

Look at what the dwarf lady holding in her hand - proof of tge greatest royal award at that time

@ledlight6630 2 months ago

One of the most beautiful paintings of all times🥰❤ thanks for the video❤

@paulroige 2 months ago

What a great idea. I'm officially hooked to this channel.

@DawnChristine-0521 2 months ago

Diego was a genius!

@InsightThePaintings 2 months ago

Inspiring

@gracebinder 1 month ago

He leido a Foucalt, he visto la pintura y cada vez encuentro mas ideas. Nadie pinto el Tiempo, "actual", el aqui y ahora, inmemorial e inamovible como Velazquez