LONDON.-  From Goya to Picasso, many artists have been inspired by the painting ’Las Meninas’ created by Velázquez in 1656, but until now nobody had come up with the idea of reconstructing in a video the magical moment that recreates the master work of the Spanish painter. The idea has been appropriated by New York artist Eve Sussman, whose 12-minute film titled ’89 Seconds at Alcázar’ is being projected until March 27 at an art gallery outside of London. The film, which portrays ’Las Meninas’ in the precise instant when Velázquez is painting them and also at the moment right before and immediately after they were immortalized in the canvas, has already been purchased by Spanish art collectors. The artist perceived "a connection between the image in the painting, film and photography, even though these last two did not exist back in 1656", according to Sussman. "Those 89 seconds could refer to the concrete choreography of the painting, the moment in which the actors become Las Meninas; but, in reality, they could be anything else, a movement of a hand or a turn of a head, that has epic connotations". ’89 Seconds at Alcázar’ shows Mariana of Austria observing herself in a mirror; the meninas, ladies-in-waiting, fix her dress while the infanta Margarita with the dwarfs Maribárbola and Nicolás Pertusato approach the scene; Phillip IV fixes his mustache, and Velázquez, paintbrush in hand, prepares himself before the canvas. "I parted from the fact that Velázquez is painting the kings, who are reflected in the mirror in his back, while the infanta Margarita and her court observe", explained Sussman. "That is the artifice he wanted us to believe", she assured.

Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez was born in 1599 in Seville, a member of the lesser nobility. Velázquez seems to have started his apprenticeship with Francisco de Herrera the Elder (c.1590-1654), but a short while later (in 1611) his father sent him to Francisco Pacheco (1564-1644), who was an artist of modest talent, but a tolerant teacher and a man of society. Francisco Pacheco had good contacts in the royal court and with intellectuals of the city, such as poets, scholars, and artists, who liked to meet at his workshop to discuss the subjects of classical antiquity, Raphael, Michelangelo and above all Titian, as well as talk about art theory. At this time, Velazquez became familiar with the school of Caravaggio. In 1617, Velázquez was accepted into the painters’ guild of St. Luke in Seville. Membership in this guild was necessary before he could start his own workshop, employ assistants, and receive commissions from churches and public institutions. The paintings executed by Velázquez in Seville before 1622 include still lifes and his first portraits and religious compositions. In 1622, Velázquez visited Madrid for the first time, and he went to Toledo to see works by El Greco.

In the spring of 1623, Velázquez was summoned to the royal court by the powerful Prime Minister, the Count-Duke of Olivares, and received his first commission for a portrait of Philip IV. The success of this painting brought the artist an appointment as court painter and the privilege of becoming the only artist permitted to paint the king in the future. In 1628, Peter Paul Rubens came to the court in Madrid on diplomatic business. Velázquez often visited him at work, and it was Rubens who persuaded Velázquez to go to Italy. During his first journey to Italy in 1629-30, Velázquez visited Genoa, Venice (where he saw the work of Titian), Florence, and Rome, where he stayed for almost a year. He copied the old masters, but also painted large compositions of his. In 1636, the king appointed him “Assistant to the Wardrobe”, and in 1643 the king promoted Velázquez to the post of Chamberlain of his private chambers. He was later made assistant to the superintendent of special building projects. In the next few years Velázquez’ art approached its peak. During his second visit to Rome (1649-1651) Velázquez painted his famous portrait of Pope Innocent X, which the pope himself declared it to be ‘too truthful’. On his return to Madrid he was appointed Supreme Court Marshal, and he was able now to enlarge his workshop, employing many assistants and pupils.

Velazquez’s career ended with his most significant work ‘Las Meninas’. The painting is a multiple portrait of the royal family and court. The principal figure with all the power of her mischievous charm, is the little Infanta Margarita, who has burst into Velazquez’s studio, followed by her ladies-in-waiting, dwarfs and dogs, while he was painting the king and queen, whose images are reflected in the mirror hanging on the wall in the background, where two large mythological paintings, one by Rubens, the other by Jordaens, are also hanging. The great master died in the palace in Madrid on August 6, 1660.