A Painting to Remember: ‘Las Meninas’
One of the most written about paintings of all time
Three memories I have of the first time I visited Madrid: the relentless elegance of the women in the fashionable areas, the sumptuous gazpacho at the Ritz Madrid, and seeing “Las Meninas” in the Prado.
Ask an artist or a philosopher today to name the greatest painting in the world and the chances are they will say “Las Meninas” (The Maids of Honor) by Diego Velasquez.
As a history of art student, I would gaze at the reproductions in my Thames and Hudson art books. I wasn’t sure why this was the most written about painting in Western civilization.