The best-known work of its creator, of whom it includes a self-portrait, this canvas was called "the theology of painting" by one artist and "the philosophy of art" by another. It was reinterpreted by the most famous artist of the 20th century, and its precise meaning has been endlessly debated. Today, it hangs in a great museum in the city in which it was made. What is it, who painted it, and who reinterpreted it? (Please provide an illustration.)

peasypod

It would be Las Meninas, (Velázquez). Dale Brown (1969) reinterpreted it as the painter has prognosticated the Fall of the Spanish Empire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Velasquez#References Aug 29 05, 6:28 PM

lanfranco

It is "Las Meninas", peasy, so a yay to you! The relationship between illusion and representation; beween the beholder and the beheld; art as a mirror of reality; social relationships, values, and hierarchies and the place of art and the artist within and among them -- you name it, someone's written about "Las Meninas" in that context. The great art philosopher Arthur Danto once wrote that this painting's puzzles are meant to be felt, not explained. I've long felt that about the 20th-century reinterpreter, Picasso, though much to the distress of a couple of Picasso experts I know. Aug 29 05, 6:46 PM