Surrounded by silky fabrics, a slim nude woman is reclining on a bed, striking an elegant yet natural pose while giving us her back. Her slender body does not reflect the contemporary ideal of beauty. The lack of any jewellery or attribute turns this into an intimate bedroom scene, but the presence of Cupid holding the mirror turns the slight young woman into the goddess Venus. It is the only extant nude in Velázquez’ oeuvre. This is a highpoint in the depiction of the female nude, not only because of Velázquez’ open brushwork, which heightens the composition’s sensuality, but also because of the interplay of glances, which focus on the act of seeing, one of the fundamental aspects of painting: what Cupid sees differs from what the spectator sees; Venus is not gazing into the mirror but at us. We see her sensual body but cannot see her »true face«, which is obscured by the unfocused contours reflected in the mirror.