Foucault’s Analysis and Interdisciplinary Perspective on Velázquez's Painting Las Meninas

Vuksan Vuksanović

doi:10.25038/am.v0i28.601

Authors

Vuksan Vuksanović Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University, Belgrade, Serbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i28.601

Keywords:

representation; Foucault; Las Meninas; épistémè; interdisciplinary analysis; self-referentiality.

Abstract

This paper examines Michel Foucault's interpretation of Diego Velázquez's painting Las Meninas (1656) which he uses to illustrate shifts in épistémès throughout history. After analyzing Foucault's interpretation, I extended his approach by employing an interdisciplinary perspective to relativize some of his concepts. The study incorporates various interdisciplinary methods, demonstrating that these approaches lead to a more profound understanding of the ontological, aesthetic, technical, psychological, and sociological dimensions of Velázquez's painting. This strategy demonstrates that artistic creations are dynamic and surpass simplistic dualistic frameworks, methodological relativism, and determinism. As a result, Las Meninas emerges as a self – referential artefact, continuously evolving in meaning through different epistemological and social frameworks.

Author Biography

Vuksan Vuksanović, Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University, Belgrade, Serbia

Vuksan Vuksanović (Montenegro, 1978) currently resides in Podgorica. After earning his degree in philosophy from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Montenegro, Milan worked as a high school philosophy teacher. He later continued his education and became a librarian. Currently, he is employed at the library of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Montenegro. Additionally, he is a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University in Belgrade, Serbia.

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Foucault’s Analysis and Interdisciplinary Perspective on Velázquez's Painting Las Meninas

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Vuksan Vuksanović, Faculty of Media and Communications, Singidunum University, Belgrade, Serbia

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