There are so many reasons why I love this painting. However the 2 biggest things I love about this painting are the humanity with this character and the surprising lack of detail in the focal area.
At a time when Mars was always depicted as this very strong, untouchable God, Velazquez decided to paint a very depiction of Mars. He is shown out of armor, rested, and even a little defeated. He seems more human than God.
Compositionally, I absolutely love how Velasquez painted this. The face is still the focus, yet it doesn't follow the rules most painters use to draw attention to the main focal area. It doesn't have the strong contrasts most painters use to draw attention, and it seems to have less detail than the rest of the painting. Yet it still draws our eye in and makes for a very strong composition.
