In this painting, with a Biblical scene of Jesus with Mary and Martha in the background, Diego Velazquez realistically depicts a 17th century Spanish kitchen. Note the garlic, eggs, and fish being prepared; the dress is also 17th century Spanish. A painting like this can give us some insight in the "women's world" of the kitchen at that time in history.
Just as Jesus rebukes Martha, so someone is rebuking the maid, who looks quite upset about something. While some critics have proposed that the Biblical scene was a painting within a painting, more now agree (especially since a restoration of the painting in the 1960s) that Jesus, Mary and Martha are visible through some sort of window or other opening in the wall.
