Why Diego Velázquez needed a lifetime to paint his enigmatic masterpiece

Often thought of as the defining masterpiece of Spanish Baroque painting, Las Meninas (1656) by Diego Velázquez is also one of the most unusual and widely debated royal portraits in the history of art. In this instalment of the series Great Art Explained, the UK curator, gallerist and video essayist James Payne details how Velázquez evolved from a talented young painter with an almost photorealistic style to an influential artist with a style all his own and, as his breakdown of Las Meninas demonstrates, a master of perspective and light. With acute attention to detail, Payne places the work in the context of Spanish history, the evolution of art and Velázquez’s biography to draw out why the painting remains an enigma, while offering his perspective on the allure and the many mysteries it still holds, centuries later.