Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez The painter looks at you. You're on. From 2009 you observe a frozen scene: the room of the Prince in the Alcazar in Madrid in 1656. What do you see? Perhaps you don't realise it at first, but as Carl Justi says, your perspective has been elevated a little: your feet aren't actually touching the ground.The painter knows what you see, but speculates on what you think. You stand as if looking through a window, and it is not the sun, but the bright lamp of your attention that illuminates the foreground. The painter controls your gaze. King Philip and Queen Mariana are reflected in the silvery edged mirror at the back of the hall. Diego sees the monarchs compose themselves. We, the King and Queen, look at our daughter, Margarita . Velazquez sees the Infanta through our eyes and then he portrays Margarita and sees us, the King and Queen, through her eyes. One maid looks at Margarita, who sees us, another looks at us as we admire our dau...
Left wing commentary from the heart and the head