Las Hilanderas is one of the most famous of the paintings by Velázquez. In its composition, the artist looks back to his bodegones, where two different areas and two planes of reality balance each other. The everyday scene in the foreground shows a plainly furnished room where women are at work spinning. On the left, an elderly woman is at the spinning wheel, while the young woman seated to the right is winding yam. Three other women are bringing more wool and sorting through the remnants. There is a second room in the background, in an alcove reached by steps. It is flooded with light and contains several elegantly dressed women. The woman on the left wearing an antique helmet and with her arm raised is a figure of Athena. Opposite her stands the young Arachne, who has committed the sacrilegious act of comparing her skill in weaving with the goddess's. She has begun their competition with a tapestry showing one of the love affairs of Jupiter, the rape of Europa.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	The Fable of Arachne (Las Hilanderas) c. 1657 Oil on canvas, 220 x 289 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid	1179*900 True Color 114 Kb
	The Fable of Arachne (detail) c. 1657 Oil on canvas Museo del Prado, Madrid	1000*1007 True Color 113 Kb
	The Fable of Arachne (detail) c. 1657 Oil on canvas Museo del Prado, Madrid	900*1153 True Color 170 Kb
	The Fable of Arachne (detail) c. 1657 Oil on canvas Museo del Prado, Madrid	750*1156 True Color 108 Kb
	The Fable of Arachne (detail) c. 1657 Oil on canvas Museo del Prado, Madrid	1009*1065 True Color 106 Kb