“This painting depicts the Infanta Margarita , the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and the eldest daughter of his second wife, Mariana of Austria, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting, her dwarf, and her mastiff, while Velázquez is seen standing at his own easel.  This is a composition of enormous representational impact.  The Infanta Margarita stands proudly amongst her maids of honour, with a dwarf to the right. Although she is the smallest, she is clearly the central figure; above her head, the ruling couple is reflected in the mirror. A courtier stands in the doorway at the back.” (Wikipedia)  The painter, the Infanta and the dwarf look directly at the spectator, suggesting that he is either the sovereign figure or is at least intimately related to them.  Although the viewer does not appear in the picture, he and the royal couple are the actual focus of the painting towards which everything else is directed. Thus, the viewer takes on the role of a royal figure and his perception of the characters is reflected in the way that they are painted.  For example, the dwarf’s ugliness may have been exaggerated to contrast with the beauty of the Infanta.  One mystery is the relationship between the viewer and the courtier.  Though he stands farther away from the viewer than the reflection of the royal couple, he is painted much more vividly than the sovereign figures.  He also appears to be looking directly at the viewer.  This interpretation of the painting supports the belief that Las Meninas is a painting that pioneered the representation of psyche in art, where the focus of the art of representation is hardly represented in the picture plane.