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Kitchen Scene in the House of Mary and Martha by Diego Velázquez, c.1618.
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Ask yourself that question when you see an artwork you respond to and it might reveal what you strive for in your own artistic practice. In Diego Velázquez's
Kitchen Scene in the House of Mary and Martha, the answer (for me at least) is the psychological intensity of the foreground figures and the layered composition.
The young girl in the foreground has an expression that's not easy to read. It's a combination of weepiness, resentment, regret, and a little bit of pure teenage misery. The kitchen task that occupies her hands cannot hold her attention. Neither can the elderly woman at her side whose subtle hand gesture and tilt of head could be gently chiding or comforting the girl.
As a master of composition, Velazquez provides us with multiple ways of reading the scene. The background figures could be part of a Biblical illustration tacked to the wall of the dusky room. But it could also be that we are seeing through a entryway into another room in the house. Or it could be a mirror, and those figures are positioned where the girl in the foreground directs her gaze.
We haven't touched on the Biblical story behind the painting or its historical context as a Spanish bodegón painting. Those are interesting points, but I wanted to focus in on what attracted me on an emotional level. Doing so is like holding up a mirror to our artist selves. I'm a sucker for subtle emotions and a multifaceted story or competing interpretations.
As you develop your creative process, it's helpful to take cues from the work you admire. Often we focus on technique, but it is equally useful to note one's emotional response to a piece of art.
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