Introduction Las Meninas: the theology of painting Suzanne Stratton-Pruitt; 1. The aura of a masterpiece: 19th-century responses to Las Meninas in France and Spain Alisa Luxenberg; 2. Las Meninas at Kingston Lacy Hugh Brigstocke; 3. 'Why drag in Velásquez?': Realism, aestheticism, and the American response to Las Meninas M. Elizabeth Boone; 4. Las Meninas as representation Estrella de Diego; 5. Velásquez and the twentieth century Barbara Rose.