The Spinners Painting

Analyzing artwork has never been one of my strengths, however I will try my best. At first in Velasquez's painting I notice the contrast in brightness throughout the piece. The background to where the the end product of Arachne is shown is very bright, like it is under a spotlight. This illustrates the importance of this part in the painting, revealing it to be of the upmost importance. This also makes Arachne's finished product look almost holy and divine, revealing the beauty and significance of her work and her triumph over Athena.The foreground of the piece has both light and dark contrasts. Over to the left where the "old woman" (who I believe to be Athena) the light is very dim, showing Athena's cruel intentions. I believe this woman to be Athena do to the youthful leg that is outstretched and also the hidden sword underneath her spinning wheel. Athena was the goddess of wisdom and war which makes it safe to assume that that weapon is her's. Over to the right, where I believe Arachne to be with her helpers, is bright.  You can tell which one is Arachne due to her being the one holding the threads that makes it look as though she is actually weaving a spider web. This woman is also wearing a white headband signifying her purity and goodness, and also she is wearing mostly white-- whereas Athena is in mostly black. This, to me, reveals her to be the heroine of the piece who is the better of the two. I believe this painting is one of contrasts illustrating Arachne as being good and pure and the goddess Athena to be cruel and underhanded. This is probably wrong, but this is what I see within this painting.