(; "The Spinners") is a painting by the Spanish painter

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...

, in the of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It is also known by the title ''The Fable of Arachne''. Most scholars regard it as a late work by the artist, dating from 1657-58, but some argue that it was done -48. Velázquez scholar Jonathan Brown writes that and are arguably Velázquez's "two greatest paintings.... ey are the largest, most complicated compositions executed between 1640 and 1660, a period during which Velázquez painted mostly portraits of single figures". Traditionally, it was believed that the painting depicted women workers in the tapestry workshop of Santa Isabel. In 1948, however, Diego Angulo observed that the iconography suggested Ovid's Fable of Arachne, the story of the mortal Arachne who dared to challenge the goddess

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...

to a weaving competition and, on winning the contest, was turned into a spider by the jealous goddess. This is now generally accepted as the correct interpretation of the painting. It was painted for Don Pedro de Arce, huntsman to King Philip IV. It entered the Spanish royal collection in the eighteenth century, and was probably damaged by the fire at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid in 1734. New sections were added at the sides (37 cm in total) and over 50 cm to the top of the canvas. The painting remains at the extended size but is currently (in November 2013) displayed behind a screen with a frame added over a cut-away section revealing only the original dimensions. Stylistic elements, such as the lightness, the economical use of paint, and the clear influence of the Italian

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

, have led most scholars to assert that it was painted in 1657-58. Others place it between 1644–48, perhaps because certain aspects of its form and content recall the bodegones Velázquez painted in his early career. In , Velázquez developed a layered composition, an approach he had often used in his earlier bodegones, such as the '' Kitchen Scene with Christ in the House of Martha and Mary''. In the foreground is the contest. The goddess Athena, disguised as an old woman, is on the left and Arachne, in a white top facing away from the viewer, is on the right. Three helpers assist them. In the background, a raised platform (perhaps a stage) displays the finished tapestries. The one visible to us is Arachne's, showing The Rape of Europa — another Greek myth. This is in fact a copy of

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

's painting of the subject, which was in the Spanish royal collection.Jonathan Brown writes, "By inserting a quotation of this famous work he Rape of Europainto the composition, Velázquez implies his belief in the nobility and transcendental value of the art of painting. Titian is equated with Arachne, and Arachne could 'paint' like a god. Velázquez's homage to Titian has another dimension because Titian was the favorite painter of Charles V and Philip II, by whom he had been rewarded with honors and presents.... Therefore, Titian provided an artistic and social paradigm for the elevated status of painting at the court of Spain. By paying tribute to this distinguished predecessor in a style that is profoundly Titianesque, Velázquez claimed a place in the succession of the Venetian master..." Brown, Jonathan, ''Velázquez: Painter and Courtier''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1986, p. 253. The painting has been interpreted as an allegory of the arts and even as a commentary on the range of creative endeavor, with the fine arts represented by the goddess and the crafts represented by Arachne. Others think that Velázquez' message was simply that to create great works of art, both great creativity and hard technical work are required. Other scholars have read political allegories into the work and interpreted it through popular culture. Tizian 085

References

Sources

* *Bird, Wendy. "The Bobbin and the Distaff", Apollo, 2007-11-01

External links

"Enslaved sovereign": aesthetics of power in Foucault, Velazquez and Ovid.
Article by Sira Dambe, Journal of Literary Studies, December 1, 2006
''Velázquez ''
exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online {{DEFAULTSORT:Hilanderas, Las Paintings by Diego Velázquez in the Museo del Prado Cats in art Musical instruments in art Paintings based on Metamorphoses Spanish royal collection

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External links