Conservation of Velázquez’s ‘Las Meninas’

 From ArtNet:

The 17th-century portrait Las Meninas (1656), or “The Maids of Honor,” is universally regarded as Diego Velázquez’s magnum opus, and perhaps the single greatest existing expression of classical Spanish art. Velázquez himself, King Philip IV’s court painter, is regarded as the leading artist of Spain’s 17th- and 18th-century Baroque style. He completed the painting just four years before his death.

“Few paintings in the history of art have generated so many and varied interpretations as this, Velázquez’s culminating work,” wrote art historian Jonathan Brown.

It comes as no surprise, then, that the Spanish public is fiercely protective of its crown jewel. By 1984, a layer of resin varnish applied to seal the painting after a previous restoration had yellowed. When both Spain’s Prime Minister and the Prado Museum’s director invited British-born art conservator John Brealey to clean the work, it caused an uproar. (Read more.)