The masterpiece of Velázquez, painted in 1656 for Philip IV, and the most
complicated selfie of the 17th century. The Infanta Margarita Teresa stands
surrounded by her retinue (the famous meninas, her ladies in waiting), with two
court dwarfs, a dozing dog, and Velázquez himself looking out at us while he
works on a huge canvas turned away from view. Whoever he is painting stands
roughly where we do, and the mirror on the back wall gives them away: the king
and queen. It is waiting for you at the Museo del Prado.
