Description
Las Hilanderas by Diego Velázquez connects a scene of women working with interpretations of the ancient story of Arachne.
Traditionally, it was believed that the painting depicted women workers in the tapestry workshop of Santa Isabel. In 1948, however, Diego Angula observed that the iconography suggested Ovid’s Fable of Arachne, the story of the mortal Arachne who dared to challenge the goddess Athena to a weaving competition and, on winning the contest, was turned into a spider by the jealous goddess. This is now generally accepted as the correct interpretation of the painting.
It was painted for Don Pedro de Arce, huntsman to King Philip IV. It entered the Spanish royal collection in the eighteenth century, and was probably damaged by the fire at the Royal Alcazar of Madrid in 1734. New sections were added at the sides (37 cm in total) and over 50 cm to the top of the canvas. The painting remains at the extended size but is currently (in November 2013) displayed behind a screen with a frame added over a cut-away section revealing only the original dimensions.
Bibliography
Las Hilanderas, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Las_Hilanderas&oldid=1096764425 (last visited Aug. 8, 2022).
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Diego Velázquez collection.
