Realism based less on the dramatic contrasts of values popular in the preceding
decades characterizes this work. A hint of the fantastical is present in the
oddly highlighted, mirror-like frame which straddles the distance above and
between the heads of two of the girls. There is a light, playful tone in the
sunlit region that is stifled by the dark, straight-edged background. The
recessed doorway opens to a well-lit room that has little power to shine within
the primary chamber. Near to this doorway is a weather-exposed window like the
one in the foreground that has a similar illuminating power.
For all of this works authentic optical realism it is based on a spartan color palette. Valázquez’ ingenious use of value implies blues, greens and pinks that are centered on expertly diluted chroma. He has distributed a signature-like fleshy red in moments on the canvas to a subtle and graceful binding effect. This is accomplished a second time with the lateral canvas and repeating vertical edges.
An impression of spacious volume is achieved. What is an optical foreground quickly blends into a midground and background of realism. Individualistic features are abstracted away. Colors and tonal contrasts are blended into the gloom. Lines of convergence meet at the paneled door. Relative warmth supports these depth-building measures.
Valázquez’ use of color organically serves simultaneous purposes. A variety of whites, shadow-formatted grays, dense blues, greens and blacks unify the canvas, but his arrangement of reds and pinks generate interest. He employs the full value range, creating a muted sense of tension between his use of darks in the background and arrangement of highlights in the foreground. Lush, youthful textures subtlety overpower artificial, somewhat rough ones due to their vitality.
The young girl below optical center is all but placed in a spotlight. She is bracketed by two older girls, one attending to her, the other demonstrating the behavior she is expected to model. A handful of gazes draw the viewer into the room with them, but hers is the only one that is not direct. In a way, a sort of reverse-hieratic scale implies her importance because of her stature and the oversized dress she wears. One of the directional forces created originates from the highlighted portrait in the far back wall, creating a secondary center of interest and drawing the viewer into the background.
I believe a word on this works complicated line-of-axis system deserves special mention. Linear perspective combined with the background grid system build lines of recession and perpendicular angularity. While these lines fall away from the observer, the direct attention of a number of the subjects pull her or him in to the canvas. The energy and orientation of elements is vertical (foreground elements), horizontal (background elements) and recessive (ceiling and right wall), creating a cubic pictorial orientation.
It’s possible Valázquez has referenced the development of this same painting with the oversized canvas positioned along the left edge of the picture plane. It repeats the enormous scale of this work (10' 5" × 9' ½"). If so, he has blended events occurring at different times on the canvas: The subject (documenting a portrait of the girls and the event they’re about to attend), the execution of the painting itself, and respectful references to the works of others in the background canvases.
This is a complicated painting, employing a handful of compositional strategies in a unified, interlaced manner. He masterfully blends formal and elemental tensions with equivalencies, creating that elusive balance between calm and interest all serious artists seek to achieve. Marilyn Stockstad said it much better than I ever could when she described this work as “monumental”.
For all of this works authentic optical realism it is based on a spartan color palette. Valázquez’ ingenious use of value implies blues, greens and pinks that are centered on expertly diluted chroma. He has distributed a signature-like fleshy red in moments on the canvas to a subtle and graceful binding effect. This is accomplished a second time with the lateral canvas and repeating vertical edges.
An impression of spacious volume is achieved. What is an optical foreground quickly blends into a midground and background of realism. Individualistic features are abstracted away. Colors and tonal contrasts are blended into the gloom. Lines of convergence meet at the paneled door. Relative warmth supports these depth-building measures.
Valázquez’ use of color organically serves simultaneous purposes. A variety of whites, shadow-formatted grays, dense blues, greens and blacks unify the canvas, but his arrangement of reds and pinks generate interest. He employs the full value range, creating a muted sense of tension between his use of darks in the background and arrangement of highlights in the foreground. Lush, youthful textures subtlety overpower artificial, somewhat rough ones due to their vitality.
The young girl below optical center is all but placed in a spotlight. She is bracketed by two older girls, one attending to her, the other demonstrating the behavior she is expected to model. A handful of gazes draw the viewer into the room with them, but hers is the only one that is not direct. In a way, a sort of reverse-hieratic scale implies her importance because of her stature and the oversized dress she wears. One of the directional forces created originates from the highlighted portrait in the far back wall, creating a secondary center of interest and drawing the viewer into the background.
I believe a word on this works complicated line-of-axis system deserves special mention. Linear perspective combined with the background grid system build lines of recession and perpendicular angularity. While these lines fall away from the observer, the direct attention of a number of the subjects pull her or him in to the canvas. The energy and orientation of elements is vertical (foreground elements), horizontal (background elements) and recessive (ceiling and right wall), creating a cubic pictorial orientation.
It’s possible Valázquez has referenced the development of this same painting with the oversized canvas positioned along the left edge of the picture plane. It repeats the enormous scale of this work (10' 5" × 9' ½"). If so, he has blended events occurring at different times on the canvas: The subject (documenting a portrait of the girls and the event they’re about to attend), the execution of the painting itself, and respectful references to the works of others in the background canvases.
This is a complicated painting, employing a handful of compositional strategies in a unified, interlaced manner. He masterfully blends formal and elemental tensions with equivalencies, creating that elusive balance between calm and interest all serious artists seek to achieve. Marilyn Stockstad said it much better than I ever could when she described this work as “monumental”.
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