According to Wikipedia, this is the only surviving female nude by Velazquez and one of only two nude paintings in 17th century Spanish art because of censorship by the Spanish Inquisition. However, as the king's painter Velazquez seems to have been able to draw a nude and get away with it :)
I like this painting because I find it unusual that I only get to see the back of Venus, unlike in many other works of art concerning Venus. I also find it intriguing that the mirror's angle is not supposed to reflect Venus' face but that it does anyway, and that her face is so blurry that it's hard to really see what she looks like. Maybe Velazquez found it a demanding task to paint the face of goddess of beauty...
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