Diego Velázquez's 1656 painting *Las Meninas* is examined as one of the most conceptually complex works in Western art history. The article explores how the painting subverts Renaissance artistic conventions by playing with perspective, illusion, and the relationship between viewer and subject, depicting Infanta Margaret Theresa surrounded by her entourage in the Royal Alcázar of Madrid.
The analysis places *Las Meninas* within a broader historical backlash against Renaissance perfectionism, citing earlier Mannerist and Baroque artists like Parmigianino, Caravaggio, and El Greco who similarly challenged artistic norms. The painting's enduring importance lies in its sophisticated deconstruction of pictorial space and its questioning of what the viewer is actually seeing, making it a pivotal work that continues to influence art historical discourse.