Portrait of Sister María Clara Josefa

After the death of their most outstanding members, religious orders commissioned portraits of the latter so that they might serve as examples to the community. Among female orders, these portraits could be of two kinds: the first pertaining to recently deceased nuns, were painted on their catafalques, while the second took the form of an official portrait, showing the subject in a standing position, with closed eyes and a downcast face, accompanied by objects alluding to her virtues or to the tasks that she had carried out in the convent. In both cases, the compositions were accompanied by inscriptions describing the life of the person depicted. This work depicts Sister María Clara Josefa, a Capuchin nun. From the books that accompany her, it would seem likely that she was responsible for teaching the novices. One of these books, whose spine bears the title, Trono mexicano (Mexican Throne) was written by Fray Ignacio de la Peña and published in 1728; it recounts the history of the Convent of San Felipe de Jesús, the first convent of Capuchin nuns in New Spain. The engraving of the Sacred Heart alludes to the nuns devoutness. This work passed to the MUNAL from the San Diego Viceregal Painting Gallery in the year 2000.