Introduction to Crowned Nun Portraits (monjas coronadas)

Portrait of Mother Ana María of the Precious Blood of Christ, 1770 CE, oil on canvas, Mexico. Denver Art Museum.

Some of the most famous 18th-century colonial Mexican paintings are the stunning monjas coronadas (crowned nuns). This unique genre of Spanish colonial art captures a pivotal moment in a young woman’s life—the day she officially became a Catholic nun and took her religious vows in a convent.

One of our videos in ABCs of Art History explains the genre of crowned nun portraits. It discusses how a nun’s floral crown, elaborate veil, and floral candle and crucifix were all part of the visual tradition of nun profession portraits, a type of art form found in New Spain and other parts of the Spanish Americas.