Picasso

Pablo Picasso is one particular artist who was profoundly affected by the painting Las Meninas. Picasso’s viewing of the painting at the young and impressionable age of 14 left a lasting impact on him. In his later years he created upwards of 50 replications of Las Meninas.

Over the course of Pablo Picasso's life he created around 58 replications of Diego Valezquez's Las Meninas. Picasso viewed Las Meninas for the first time at the impressionable age of fourteen. A few years later, Picasso's sister died at a young age. In many of these replications Picasso focuses on the Infanta Maria Margarita. Both of these young girls were blonde, and Picasso's younger sister was of a similar age to the Infanta when she passed away. Consequently, this is presumably why Picasso places so much emphasis on the Infanta in his replications of Las Meninas. One theme that also connects the two images is innocence. Both girls were innocent victims of their surroundings in their own ways, which undoubtedly affected Picasso's choice of emphasis on the Infanta Margarita. Further analysis of Picasso's renditions of Las Meninas are available here courtesy of the Museu Picasso.

In 2008, the Museu Picasso featured an exhibition entitled "Forgetting Velazquez. Las Meninas." This exhibition explored the influence that Velazquez had on Picasso. The exhibition featured artwork from many famous artists; including Manet, Courbet, Poussin, Delacroix, El Greco and Cranach.