Las Meninas Analysis

The perceptive disconnect so subtly crafted by Velázquez in his work titled, Las Meninas, that the interpretation is still extremely pertinent today. This holds true with the pervasiveness the modern art in the form of news that now mimics the style of this painting. News today, whether in print or otherwise, often depicts something real in appearance yet deceptively false or skewed in reality. And in this parallel comparison, Velázquez had crafted a work of art depicting what mirrors the exaggerated tales of 21st century art (news in this case). During the Spanish 17th century, an extremely paradoxical relationship between illusion and reality existed, where key themes of artistic expression were thought to exactly mirror reality, and the

However, what can be concluded, is that Las Meninas demonstrates an interpretative complexity unraveled by many other works of the time due to the subtle self portrait and subsequent resume embedded within the painting. Depicted amongst many other things in Las Meninas, is a reflection of Velázquez in a small cog shaped mirror, with his eye-line focus on King Phillip IV and Queen Mariana, while his body is directed towards another canvas. The viewer’s ‘view’ (that should be reflected in the mirror) in this instance is unknown, as it seems as if Phillip IV and Mariana have replaced viewer, but it could also be interpolated as if Phillip IV and Mariana are indeed beside the viewer look on with them. These two similar but differentiated analyses lead to several interpretations for the photo and this placement. In short, thew viewer sees the snapshot of what King Phillip IV and Mariana are actually seeing, rather than what they themselves might or should look like when painted. Regardless of which analysis is more correct, the title of “The Painting That Does Not Exist,” is simply a reference to the optical illusion of the mirror, it’s reflection, and the interpretation of the purpose of such a subtle detail in Velázquez’s

In the case of the United States’ fake news, authors have circulated stories both in print and primarily on social media, that reasonable and a plausible depiction of events at first glance, but do not reflect accuracy or truth in reality. While citizens of the United States are obsessed with individual image (both of self and of events and others), a cultural norm of laziness and acceptance of face value as truth has swept the nation. This is how fake news has flourished in the United States. Fake news has been largely centered around advancing the agenda of Donald Trump by securing his election as president of the United