| Spanish painter Diego Velázquez presents two scenes in The Fable of Arachne (about 1656, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain), also known as The Spinners. In the illuminated stagelike setting at the rear, a scene from classical mythology is enacted in which a jealous Athena (known as Minerva in Roman mythology) confronts the talented weaver Arachne. The foreground, by contrast, presents a down-to-earth scene of women spinning yarn in a cluttered workroom. To heighten dramatic effect, Velázquez and other painters of the baroque period (17th century) used such devices as sharp contrasts in lighting, energetic movement, and the illusion of deep space. Click on the buttons to find out more about Velázquez’s use of baroque theatricality. |
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