Vélazquez

Vélazquez’s paintings of mighty men are not flattering: the men of power are portrayed with inflated bellies, lumpy noses, prominent chins, bovine eyes. Vélazquez obviously didn’t like the power and thought that the power of art was much more mighty than the power of sword. Innocenzo X refused his portrait as too “realistic”, but this was not the case of the king of Spain, that instead encouraged and patronized Vélazquez. The message of the king was “it doesn’t matter if you portrait me as a semi-idiot, I am the king, and I will reign even if being an idiot.” But the last move was to Vélazquez. In his large painting “Las Meniñas” he portrays ... himself portraying the king – the king and the queen can be seen only in a glass in the centre of the painting. The mightiest is the artist, the king is secondary. Moreover, since it is evident that the king and the queen are opposite to the painter, outside the surface of the painting, any watcher can be considered to take the place of king – he who appreciates art is a king.

The provocations of Hirst are not much different, although much less ingenious.