I Think one of the most interesting things about this photo is that it is art that is about art, a story about a story, which is exactly what Metamorphoses is. I think the tapestry in the back is probably the tapestry Athena wove, and by virtue of lighting your eye is drawn to much more than the foreground. This is probably to highlight that the story of Athena and Arachne as the precedent to the weaving that is happening in the foreground. The tapestry is framed within the frame, a story within a story. I think maybe Valazques is showing how much credence Ovid places on art, a battle of weaving is told with as much importance as a battle of swords. The woman in the foreground holding back the red curtain as if they are on a stage, also seems to convey this theme of art within art. That seems to be the main point and parallels to Ovid that I can deduce. I honestly couldn't identify any references to spiders, but there are probably a lot of references I'm not picking up on.
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