[reposting] A Weaving of Representation and Discourse: van Eyck's Arnolfini portrait and Velazquez's "Las Meninas"

William John Thomas Mitchell claims pictures should be treated at though they are living things. According to Thomas, we still do not have a full understanding of the impact pictures can have on language and literacy. Considering the dependencewe have on pictures and images to convey certain thoughts and ideas, our limited understanding of their nature is of great consequence.

​Mitchell goes on to describe what he calls “metapictures” as a “place where pictures reveal and “know” themselves, where they reflect on the intersections of visuality, language, and similitude, where they engage in speculation and theorizing on their own nature and history” (Mitchell 82). This portrait by Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck illustrates this self-aware nature Mitchell describes. The subjects of the portrait seem to be aware that they are posing for a portrait. The man’s dark clothing and woman’s green dress seem to have been consciously chosen to reflect a certain feeling and message about the subjects. The woman’s hand is resting on her pregnant stomach, highlighting her pregnancy. The subjects and the artist seem to be trying to speak to the viewer through the image using these techniques.


( van Eyck's Arnolfini portrait)

Metapictures “reveal the inextricable weaving together of representation and discourse, the imbrication of visual and verbal experience” (Mitchell 83). Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas shares this weaving of representation and discourse with van Eyck’s portrait. The subjects of this portrait are meant to be captured in a candid moment, but are clearly posed to convey the desired message. Interestingly, Velazquez included himself in the painting as something of a self portrait, showing him working on a portrait and looking outward from the scene. This creates an uncertainty of what perspective we really have of the viewers. Is it a direct perspective, or a perspective purposefully influenced by Velazquez? What could he telling us by making it clear we are seeing the moment through his eyes?

( Velazquez's "Las Meninas")