Elevating oneself and the Artistic Profession: Velázquez

Diego Velázquez’s most famous painting, Las Meninas, is a clear attempt both at elevating Velázquez’s own status and show the overall grand importance of the profession of being an artist. In order to elevate himself and his profession, Velázquez implemented a careful selection of other figures present in his painting, a carefully chosen attire for himself and a spatial setting which bore much meaning and historical significance. Though the artist had become increasingly prominent in various paintings over the years, never before had an artist featured themselves so prominently but not in a self-portrait. Velázquez clearly implemented a variety of symbols in order to associate himself with positive imagery and thereby elevate himself and his artistic profession.

One of the main ways in which Velázquez was able to elevate himself and his profession was through the careful inclusion of figures, both through direct and indirect representation, in order to associate himself and others of his profession with a high status and “level” in society. In the physical scene of the painting, a vivid scene unfolds beside Velázquez as he seems to calmly look on. In this scene, the young Princess Margarita of Spain is attended to by her maids and dwarfs, whilst flanked on the side by a dog. Although at the time (being a princess and being only a minor) it is clear that Princess Margarita did not have any true political power, she is an excellent symbol of the Spanish royalty. During both Renaissance and Baroque times, the monarchy held an extremely high standing in Spanish society, exemplifying that Velázquez depicting himself with these “famous” individuals certainly helped him elevate himself. Essentially, showing himself both in the same room as, and seemingly at an equal level to, the Spanish royal family allowed Velázquez to demonstrate his elevated status as being a status close to that of the royal family at the time. Even for modern viewers who may be unable to recognize the young princess upon first sight, her position and elegant dress immediately suggests her great importance as part of the Spanish royal family. Through the representation of Princess Margarita as being flanked by attendants and wearing a large and beautiful dress, it becomes clear that the princess is a person of high standing in Spanish society. In turn, associating himself with someone of a high status in Spanish society – whether through the knowledge that this figure is important or through their assumed importance due to their dress and position – allowed Velázquez to emphasize the high status and importance which he believes should be warranted both for himself and for people of the artistic profession. Beyond the physical representation of royal figures in Las Meninas, however, Velázquez uses an ingenious technique of indirect representation through the use of a mirror. It is currently impossible to discern exactly what the mirror reflects. Most historians believe it to represent Philip IV and his wife, but it is impossible to tell whether this mirror shows the painting which Velázquez is working on or shows the subjects whom he is painting. In either scenario, by representing himself either with the real king and queen of Spain or with a painting he is producing of the king of Spain, Velázquez associates himself once more with the Spanish royalty. Though it is unclear whether these figures truly represent Philip IV and Queen Mariana, the other symbols use in the painting seem to suggest that the use of these royals in the painting would not be unlikely. Much as with Velázquez’ inclusion of Princess Margarita in his painting, the inclusion of the king and queen of Spain acts to elevate Velázquez himself and artists in general. Together, Velázquez uses both direct and indirect representations of various royal family members of high stature in order to elevate his own status and thereby the overall status of the members of the artistic profession.

At a time when the world was largely occupied with religious matters, important artistic figures such as Velázquez used religious imagery in order to enhance their own status and the status of their art pieces, a technique which Velázquez is able to successfully implement in Las Meninas through his own attire. As the emergence of Protestantism suddenly challenged traditional religious beliefs, various measures, including the Counter-Reformation, were introduced by the Catholic church to reinvigorate the Catholic faith in the people of Europe. Though this effort was not entirely successful in some Northern European powers, the Counter-Reformation was rapidly embraced in Italy and in Spain by their respective governments. This Catholic revivalist spirit led to a flourishing of religious art in the Baroque period, thereby resulting in an increasing religious prominence of various artists. Fitting with this prominence and fame which various artists achieved, Velázquez hoped to become part of the Order of Santiago in order to become a noble, specifically hoping to enter the order through a more nontraditional way than the normal method of entering the order through a history of nobility. Velázquez’s sincere hope was to be admitted to the order on the basis of his merit as a painter, which would thereby act to elevate his standing in Spanish society. Velázquez was eventually admitted into the order, thereby making him a part of the Spanish nobility and helping him demonstrating the large importance and status of himself and of artists in general in Spain. In order to emphasize his high statute in society, Velázquez has painted himself with a variety of clothing pieces which convey his importance. In general, the artist’s clothes seem exquisite and expensive. In turn, this dress choice reflects on the artist’s high stature and importance in society (which was at the time often judged by attire) as well as his elite status. However, likely the most striking symbol used in Las Meninas which Velázquez uses to show his noble and important status is an emblem which he wears on his shirt. On the clothing over his chest is a large red cross, the symbol of the Order of Santiago. By clearly connecting himself with the famous and elite Order of Santiago, Velázquez is able to associate himself with other Spaniards of high societal stature and importance, and thereby helps elevate himself and his profession in the views of Spanish society. Both Velázquez’s choice of general dress style as well as the use of the symbol of the Order of Santiago on his shirt contribute to shedding light on his aims of elevating both his own status in society but also the status of artists in general at the time.

The depiction and historical significance of the setting in which Velázquez has represented himself in Las Meninas reflects on his aim of elevating himself and his profession. In his painting, Velázquez has shown himself in a large room with high ceilings and plentiful space combined with a variety of paintings hanging from his walls. At a time when most people in Italy and Spain would have been relatively poor and certainly unable to obtain a space like that of Velázquez, his ability (as an artist) to have his studio in such a large and majestic location is a way in which Velázquez seems to encourage a high valuation of the importance and stature of artists in Baroque Spain. In addition to the majestic and grand design of the room in which Velázquez paints, the various large paintings which hang throughout his room again seem to be suggestive of a large amount of wealth and a high status on the part of Velázquez. There are two ways in which these paintings may symbolize Velázquez’s high stature: either he painted them himself, an action for which he would have required significant time and therefore financial support for a project which didn’t directly benefit a patron or these paintings had not been created by Velázquez, in which case Velázquez would have had to have had significant financial resources at his disposal. Both instances which describe these paintings in the scene which Velázquez depicts would indicate that Velázquez had significant financial resources, which would – due to the high importance of money at the time – likely reflect on his elevated status in Spanish society. These financial resources were provided by King Philip IV of Spain and being funded by such a prominent patron certainly helped elevate Velázquez’s importance and stature, and the general stature of people practicing artistic professions. The historical significance of the location which Velázquez had as his artistic studio (given to him by Philip IV) acts to further exemplify the role in Las Meninas in promoting the status and importance of Velázquez and artists at the time in general. The location which was represented in Las Meninas, Velázquez’s studio, was previously a room in the chambers of Prince Baltasar Carlos at Alcázar. Following the passing of the prince, some of the Carlos’ chambers were renovated to become part of a new studio for Velázquez. The sheer fact that Velázquez was invited to work and live permanently within the key Spanish royal palace in Madrid reflects the high value of this artist to the royal family and to the nation of Spain. In turn, by including details which hint at the location in which the painting was created, Velázquez is able to elevate his status and prominent through his clear association with the Spanish royal family and his ability to live in a Spanish royal palace. Both the grandeur and elegant details of the room in which Velázquez shows himself combined with the historical legacy of this room and its role in Spanish royalty lend further to elevate the status, prominence and importance both of Velázquez and artists in Spanish society.

In conclusion, Velázquez used a variety of techniques in his painting of Las Meninas in order to elevate both himself and his profession. Much of the success of Velázquez in elevating his own stature was his association of himself with royalty and the nobility, as is seen by the people who surround him in Las Meninas, the clothing which he wears and the setting in which he stands. By showing himself surrounded by symbols of royalty and nobility and various signs of his artistic skill, culture and financial resources, Velázquez is able to elevate the stature and prominence of himself and of other members of the artistic profession.