Velázquez: Christ in the House of Martha and Mary

Diego Velázquez: Christ in the House of Martha and Mary
oil on canvas, 1618
London National Gallery
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_in_the_house_of_Marthe_and_Marry_V%C3%A9lazquez.jpg)
no copyright infringement intended

Splendid ambiguity! We have here a kitchen with two women caught in what appears to be an argument, while the scene in the house of Martha and Mary (Luke 10, 38-42) can be seen on the wall. Is the biblical scene a painting within the painting (the foreground women referring to it in their argument)? Or is it rather a mirror (or a hatch), and the kitchen is within the house of Martha and Mary (the foreground women actually witnessing the biblical scene)?

Anyway, in each case, painting within the painting, mirror on the wall, or hatch, the biblical story comes here indirectly. What we see directly, there are these two women in the kitchen: by their activities and their argument, they parallel the story of Martha and Mary!


(Velázquez)