The Painting

The Painting is a Spanish production that blends animation, documentary, and history to examine the mysteries surrounding Diego Velázquez's 1656 work, Las meninas. The film treats the long-standing secrets of the painting as a puzzle to be solved, unfolding the hidden narrative of the artwork as if it were a criminal investigation.

Written and directed by Andrés Sanz Vicente, the film features a mix of fictional roles and real-world experts. Eusebio Poncela and Olivia Sanz Novoa provide the voices for the main characters, while historians Jonathan Brown and Francisco Calvo-Serraller, along with Prado Museum staff members Manuela Mena and Javier Portús, appear as themselves. The production was supported by TVE, TeleMadrid, and Mare Films.

The 107-minute film has been generally well-received by viewers. It holds a rating of 7.3 on IMDb based on 72 votes and a slightly higher score of 7.5 on TMDB from 4 votes.