Famous paintings everyone should know: Miguel Cabrera’s Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
It's a painting everyone should know but probably doesn't! The portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was painted by the most famous artist of New Spain (colonial Mexico) in the 18th century. Sor Juana was also the most famous woman in colonial Mexico! Author, artist, genius, and nun, Sor Juana was a force to be reckoned with.
A bit about Sor Juana and Cabrera
Sor Juana lived in 17th-century Mexico, then part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Miguel Cabrera painted her portrait long after Sor Juana had passed away after getting sick during an epidemic. She was a genius (child prodigy), author, playwright, scholar, and nun.
Cabrera's portrait helps us get to know more about the story of women in art by looking at the most famous portrait showing the Mexican nun. In Cabrera’s portrait, Sor Juana is dressed like a nun. Sor Juana became a nun because it allowed her to read and write. The portrait alludes to this! Sor Juana's love for books and learning shines through in the painting. In Sor Juana’s time, it was rare for girls to have much education. She’d eventually get in trouble for her ideas and writings. Sor Juana also dressed in clothing and accessories that are specific to her life as a nun in colonial Mexico, including nun jewelry!
Cabrera used this portrait to comment on Sor Juana as an author and intellectual authority. It was also an important strategy to claim how important New Spain was in the 18th century when he painted this portrait. Today the portrait hangs in the Castillo de Chapultepec in Mexico City.
Learn more about this incredible woman and her portrait in this introductory video.
Here is what the video covers:
0:00 Introduction
0:20 Introduction to Sor Juana and colonial Mexico
0:36 Miguel Cabrera’s Portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, c. 1750
1:19 Sor Juana as a nun, her clothing and accessories
1:56 Sor Juana’s library and scientific instruments
2:22 Sor Juana’s writings
2:35 Sor Juana’s ideas about the education of girls and women
2:59 Symbols in Sor Juana’s painting
3:48 Why did Cabrera paint this portrait after Sor Juana’s death?
