Diego Velázquez — Las Meninas

Inside a room are an infanta, attendants, dwarfs, a dog, and the painter himself. In a mirror at the back appear the king and queen. Yet it is never entirely clear who is looking at whom.

Velázquez painted a court portrait while also painting the act of seeing itself. The artist stands before a large canvas and looks toward us. We cannot determine whether our position is that of the royal couple, the mirror, or another unseen observer.

The figures look in different directions. Their gazes intersect and create an invisible architecture across the room. The center is both the young princess and the viewer beyond the canvas.

Byun Shi-Ji’s paintings are far emptier, yet they likewise refuse to leave the viewer outside. Standing behind an old man who looks toward the sea, we begin to share his horizon. Velázquez draws us in through the gaze of a court; Byun through the gaze of a climate.

A painting is not a closed scene. It opens again whenever someone enters through looking.

The king and queen in the mirror are still watching us.