Vel�zquez's fable of arachne (Las Hilanderas): A continuing story

Abstract

In contrast to Velazquez's most debated painting,Las Meninas, no consensus has yet coalesced around the interpretation of hisLas Hilanderas. On the one hand this is due to the fact that this painting defies iconographical classification, and on the other hand to the favored method of interpretation which excludes formal elements. The starting-point of art-historical interpretation should be the indivisibility of form and content. As the author demonstrates in his article this approach produces surprising as well as convincing results.