ANALYSING BAROQUE PAINTINGS:

The spinners (Las hilanderas) by Diego

Velzquez (1619)
Elements Characters Description The scene shows Aracne creating her weaving, she is working with her girls and at the same time Athenea is spying them in a corner, transformed into an old woman. At the same time, at the back of the picture, Athenea is punishing Aracne with her sword up and some more people looking the scene. The composition of the painting is meant to be focus in two places. At the front, where the spinners are working with Aracne and Athenea is looking, and where the goddess is making arcane an spider for its offenses against him as his father. The light comes from the back of the picture and is directed mainly to the goddess. That room is also receiving all the light. The closer part of the image (the spinners) is full of tenebrism and chiaroscuro, as in the girl with white clothes, that is shown over her partners using that technique. The main technique used by the painter to show perspective is foreground, because he paints big figures in relation to the background. Also, it is used aerial perspective making a big contrast between the closer part and the background The colours of the painting are mainly warm, different ranges of brown with lots of black and red, and a

Compositio n

Light

Perspective

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phew parts in blue. 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, in losing the contest, was turned into a spider.

Antonio Martn, 4D