Las Medinas, Diego Velazquez, 1656

Velázquez displayed a mastery of light and shadow, a flair for rendering the minute details of surface and texture (something that some Baroque masters, like his Italian precursor Carvaggio, did not dwell on), and a talent for capturing the likenesses of people.
This is probably the best known of his paintings, and it depicts members of the royal court and family.  The painting is set in Velázquez’s studio space at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, the fortress-turned-palace where the king and his family lived.  At the center of the chamber stands the princess—also referred to as the empress and the infanta—Doña Margarita Maria of Austria, the first child of Philip IV and his second wife Mariana. Directly to her left and right are the titular meninas, the ladies-in-waiting, who would accompany and attend to the young royal in her daily routine.  Further to the right stand the dwarf Maribárbola and court jester Nicolás Pertusato (or Nicolasito), who were a part of the royal household.  Just behind the meninas is a nun, Doña Marcela de Ulloa, who appears to be caught mid-discussion speaking with an unidentified guard. To the left, we see Velázquez himself, peering out from behind a large canvas. He wears a fine black courtier costume, including a cape and the red cross of Santiago painted on his chest. This symbol was a marker of his knighthood, which the king bestowed upon him in 1659.  Finally, the king and queen are caught in the reflection of the mirror, just as we the viewer would be caught had we been there.  I think Dali is a descendant of this Velazquez.