Las hilanderas (Velázquez)
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| Las Hilanderas (The Fable of Arachne) |
| Diego Velázquez, c. 1657 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 167 × 252 cm |
| Museo del Prado, Madrid |
Las Hilanderas is a late masterpiece by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez, painted for Pedro de Arce. The private patronage of the painting has lead it to be shrouded in some mystery. One uncertainty is its date of creation. Stylistic elements, such as the lightness, economic use of paint, and influence of the Italian school, have lead many scholars to assert that it was painted in 1657. Others place it earlier at some time between 1644-50, perhaps because its approach is similar to that of the bodegones he painted in his early career.
The second ambiguity is over its subject matter. Traditionally it was believed that it portrayed women working in the tapestry workshop of Santa Isabel. However, in 1948 Diego Angula observed its similarity with the Ovid's Fable of Arachne, the story of the mortal Arachne who dared to challenge the goddess Athena to a sewing competition and, in losing the contest, was turned into a spider. This is now generally accepted as the correct interpretation of the painting.
In Hilanderas, Velázquez uses a layered composition. This was a style he had often used in his earlier bodegones such as Kitchen Scene with Christ in the House of Martha and Mary. In the foreground is the sewing contest. The goddess Athena, disguised as an old woman, is on the left and Arachne, in a white top facing away from us, is on the right. Three other helpers assist them. In the background, a raised platform (perhaps a stage) is displaying the finished tapestries of the sewers. The one visible to us is Arachne's, showing The Rape of Europa - another Greek myth. Athena, enraged by Arachne's lack of respect for the gods in depicting such a scene, can be seen in the silver helmet condemning Arachne.
The painting has been interpretted in various different ways. Some suggest that it shows that the arts are greater than the crafts because the light is falling on the stage rather than the workers. Others think that Velázquez was saying that to create great works of art, great technique and hard work is required. Some others even read political allegories into the work.
[edit] Other information
The canvas was probably damaged by the fire at the Alcázar in 1734. This lead to an upper section being added.
[edit] References
- Eileen Romano, Art Classics: Velázquez, 2006 [ISBN 0-8478-2812-3]
- Emil Kren and Daniel Marx, The Fable of Arachne (Las Hilanderas), Web Gallery of Art, Retrieved on 2006-11-11.
