Portrait of Sister María Antonia del Corazón de Jesús

Throughout the XVII and XVIII centuries, as well as in the early XIX century, in New Spain it was customary to have portraits painted, as a memento for the family, of women who were to become nuns. These works possessed the added value of bestowing social prestige on their owners, since they attested to the family's loyalty to the Church and even, in some cases, to its affluence. The future brides of Christ were painted wearing their habits and with the adornments associated with their vocation: a crown of flowers, a profusely decorated candle, a coat of arms and, often, even a Christ child in their hands, symbolizing their mystical marriage to Christ. These works are known as Crowned Nuns. This painting, executed during the second decade of the XIXth century and depicting a nun belonging to the Order of the Conception, has abandoned the taste for superfluous decoration and limits itself to elements denoting greater spirituality, such as the breviary that Sister María Antonia is holding. This accords with the new style imposed by the San Carlos Academy, the artists alma mater, which favored more austere, sober compositions. The pectoral coat of arms is one of the features of the baroque style that was retained thanks to its symbolic richness and potential message. In this case, the saints and holy personages adorning the said coat of arms have to do with the nun's name and that of her forebears, so that a family tree is formed. This work was donated to the MUNAL by the National Fund for Culture and the Arts (FONCA) in 1991.