Sierra Laico

AP Art History

April 2, 2019

#203 Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace and #91 Las Meninas

Acclaimed as one of the most powerful battle scenes in Japanese art, Night Attack on the

Sanjo Palace chronicles the violent abduction of Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa from his palace

in 1159. This event took place during the Heiji rebellion, one of the civil wars in the second half

of the 12th century that marked the end of aristocratic rule and the rise of a militant government.

The scroll begins at the right with a text describing an early morning attack by several hundred

warriors under the leadership of Fujiwara no Nobuyori, who was the one responsible for the

abduction of the emperor—in an attempt to seize power. Three key elements appear multiple

times in the emaki (Japanese hand scroll) to focus the eye and organize the order of the events:

guided by a groom inside, the elegant ox carriage that will carry off Go-Shirakawa opens the

action. Strong diagonal lines and swift, active brushstrokes emphasize movement within the

composition, attempting to accurately depict the horrific events that took place on the night of

the rebellion and some of the events that resulted from it.

Diego Velasquez’s Las Meninas is a complex and credible composition that conveys a

sense of life and reality while enclosing a dense network of meanings. The artist gives us an

informal glimpse into something we as commoners would never be able to see in the flesh. The

young girl that stands in the foreground is surrounded by her two maids in waiting, dwarves, and

a large dog. In the middle ground there is a traditional Spanish duenna and a male escort, and in

the background a man is framed in a brightly lit open doorway. Of course, Velasquez himself
stands in the left panel of the composition, holding a paintbrush and palette. It has been argued

that this not-so-subtle self-portrait was Velasquez making a bold claim of high status for both

him and his art, as he longed to be taken seriously as both an artist and gentleman.

Though these pieces could be considered completely different upon first glance, they

share a common motif: to record events that were not easily seen or remembered by the public.

Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace accounts an event from over a century previous to its creation,

while Las Meninas takes a never-before-seen glimpse into the life of royalty. Though both pieces

may be slightly exaggerated or perhaps even underexaggerated, it forces the viewer to take the

word of the artists and believe the history upon which is presented to them.