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Displaying Legitimacy: Monjas Coronadas Portraits within the Home

Introduction

Among the great mercies that Our Lord God has shown me, and indeed one of the very greatest,

is to have made me the granddaughter and daughter of very Christian parents. Although I was

among the last of the daughters of the family, I do recall that all four of my grandparents were

gachupines [who were of Spanish descent] from Spain, and that they took part in the conquest of

these lands, the kingdom of the Indies. I never knew them. My father’s name was Luis de

Palacios y Solozano, and my mother was Antonia Berruecos. Both were very rich in worldly

goods, though as time passed their fortunes diminished, as is the way with all earthly things in

life. My mother was born and raised in the city of Puebla de los Angeles, where her parents lived

all their lives. And as her parents were very rich (for they had a great fortune, even more than my

father, though he too was rich), a large portion fell to her.1

This statement by the New Spanish nun María de San José (1656-1791), from the collection of writings she made for her confessor between 1703-1704, highlights the anxiety that centered around performing and legitimizing one’s elite status in New Spain. In this quotation, María de San José describes in detail her Christian heritage, her lineage (which traced back to peninsular Spain), and her family’s wealth. Elite members of society, like María de San José, were constantly expected to present their illustrious lineage, and their wealth. Presenting their elite status influenced the arts made in New Spain. This focus on displaying secular lineage and status was especially seen in the portraits of nuns.

A vast number of portraits depicted nuns in New Spain. These portraits often used European traditions to depict the sitter, and are thus not a uniquely New Spanish genre. But, there was one type of portrait that blended native, Creole (a person born in New Spain with a pure European Spanish lineage),

1 From the writings of Maríade San José: Selections from Vida, vol. 1, translated by Kathleen Ann Myers. Myers, Kathleen Ann. Neither Saints Nor Sinners, Oxford University Press, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central, .

2 and European traditions, forming its own genre of portraiture that was uniquely New Spanish: the monja coronada (crowned nun) portrait. The monja coronada portrait was a genre of painting that focused on depicting elite young women as Brides of Christ. The portraits showed the women, crowned in flowers, immediately before their profession into New Spanish convents. Floral crowns were a part of the traditional costuming worn by young brides in New Spain. In the monjas coronadas portraits, the crowns referred to the nuns’ status as Brides of Christ. Monjas coronadas portraits show their subjects dressed in sacred habits and often carrying religious trappings, such as: painted escudos (symbolic shields resembling large pendants that displayed hand painted images of biblical scenes), small sculptures depicting Christ, candles, and figurines of the dove.

Past scholarship, which began in the 1970s, focused on the portraits’ iconography, showing how artists incorporated specific indigenous Mexican symbols, such as indigenous birds and flowers, into

European portrait conventions. Iconographical approaches have proven useful in discussing how the portraits legitimized the budding Creole culture in New Spain– but also have significant limitations.2

These approaches fail to relate the portraits to their more immediate social context, that of the New

Spanish family. My paper will analyze two aspects of the monja coronada genre that have yet to be discussed in full: how the portraits were displayed by New Spanish families. By analyzing the portraits’ display, I will be able to show how the monja coronada portrait functioned within the realm of the family, and in New Spanish elite culture.

I will focus on one monja coronada portrait: Jose de Alcíbar’s Profession Portrait of Sor María

Ignacia de la Sangre de Cristo (figure 1; 1777). Profession portrait of Sor María Ignacia is a good representation of the types of portraits made by one of the most well-known monjas coronadas painter,

Jose de Alcíbar. It is also an interesting example of the type of monja coronada created for a Creole nun within the order of the Poor Clares, one of the most influential orders in the Spanish empire, with direct ties to Habsburg royalty. By closely analyzing this specific portrait, my paper will be able to show how

2 The term Creole refers, in this context, to Mexican people of Spanish or European descent. 3 the monjas coronadas portraits fit within the familial and societal contexts of New Spain.

Display and Display Culture

In his 1979 essay on monjas coronadas portraits Rogelio Ruiz Gomar offered readers a glimpse into how the images were originally displayed. In his essay, he states that: “To be able to hang such a portrait on the walls of the family living room must have been in that Catholic society a source of pride and deep satisfaction. That the family paid for such portraits is substantiated by the fact that the old account books of the convents never mention payments to artists for such commissions.”3 But, Gomar’s assumption of a

New Spanish “living room” is a misnomer; elite homes in New Spain would have had multiple reception rooms (known as salons). More recently, Kirsten Hammer has supported this sentiment, and has expanded slightly upon the discussion concerning where the monjas coronadas portraits were displayed.

She adds that the portraits “demonstrate the attempt by colonial families to reaffirm their connection with the church and to advertise their own social and moral distinction.”4 As such, no scholar has yet to argue where exactly in the colonial home the portrait would have been displayed. In this section, I will address this gap in research.5 By situating the paintings more securely within the family house, we can better address the secular function the portraits had. Understanding how the portraits were situated within the home will allow a deeper discussion of how the portraits displayed elite status within New Spanish society.

Based on inventory records of New Spanish homes, sale documents, and first-hand accounts from

European travelers, Richard Aste briefly suggests that elite New Spanish patrons would have displayed

3 Rogelio Ruiz Gomar, “Portraits of Nuns” in “Monjas coronadas,” Artes de México 198 (1978):100. 4 Kirsten Hammer, “Monjas coronadas: The Crowned Nuns of Viceregal Mexico” in Retratos: 2,000 Years of Latin American Portraits, ed. Elizabeth P. Benson (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004), 86. 5 In his recent writings on monjas coronadas, James Cordova address two areas in need of further scholarly research: the lineage inscriptions found within the images, and deducing where the portraits would be displayed within the family home. My paper aims to answer these questions, discussing the importance of the inscriptions, and offering a theory on where families would display monjas coronadas portraits. 4 family and royal portraits in the salón del dosel, the elite family's formal reception room.6 Aste states that:

“In grand noble houses, reception rooms would include a lavishly decorated salón del dosel (baldachin room),” in which a “rich armchair on a raised platform would be placed under a baldachin as a tribute to the king of Spain. In that room family and royal portraits…as well as paintings with coats of arms, would be proudly displayed.”7 This argument merits closer consideration, especially in relation to the specific genre of the monjas coronadas portraits.8

It was in the salón del dosel that the head of the household would receive guests who had the potential to increase the family’s social standing, often through associating with elite members of New

Spain. Because of these potential relationships, it was imperative that the family presented its elite status and legitimized its social reputation. The salón del dosel functioned as a visual display of elite status; the thematic programing of the room’s décor would allow families to highlight visual markers that signified that they were elite. Such visual markers included expensive textiles, paintings, and the baldachin.

Historian Gustavo Curiel provides a case study of a colonial New Spanish home. He looked at sale records, journals, and inventories from the year 1695 for one Doña Teresa Francisca María de

Guadalupe Retes Paz Vera, the marchioness of San Jorge, in Mexico City. 9 Curiel was able to show that

Doña Teresa’s large collection of art and other material goods were displayed within specific rooms of her New Spanish estate. Doña Teresa had many reception rooms and salones in her estate, one of which was the ornate salón del dosel. The salón del dosel in Doña Teresa’s home featured a multitude of expensive artworks. The beams and lower portions of the walls were painted with religious scenes

6 formal reception room 7 Aste, Richard., Bagneris, Mia L, Brown, Michael A., Rivas, Jorge, Stratton-Pruitt, Suzanne L., Brooklyn Museum, Albuquerque Museum, and John Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Behind Closed Doors : Art in the Spanish American Home, 1492-1898 / Edited by Richard Aste ; Essays by Richard Aste, Mia L. Bagneris, Michael A. Brown, Jorge F. Rivas Pérez, Suzanne L. Stratton-Pruitt. 2013. 63 8 Aste instead tells the reader to refer to art historian Michael Brown's essay on New Spanish portraiture and patronage that is included later in the catalogue. Unfortunately, Brown's essay does not refer to the display of New Spanish portraiture within the home. 9 Wife of the marque 5 depicting the life of Christ.10 Doña Teresa also had expensive textiles hanging in the salón del dosel, one of which was specifically placed over the baldachin. Furthermore, portraits of the Spanish King Charles

II and the reigning viceroy were displayed within the salón del dosel.

By displaying such artworks within the salón del dosel, Doña Teresa affirmed her elite status.

She was able to display her connection to the Spanish throne and governing bodies of New Spain through the inclusion of portraits of the Charles II and the viceroy. Furthermore, the décor of the salón del dosel specifically mirrored the function and thematic displays of the viceroy palaces and of the grand throne rooms found in Spain. The thematic program in the salón del dosel thus highlighted Doña Teresa’s loyalty to the viceroy and the Spanish throne.

A New Spanish noble was able to display his or her loyalty to the Spanish throne in multiple ways using artwork within the salón del dosel. Not only would portraits of the Spanish king directly tie the noble to the governing authority – as it did with Doña Teresa – but the overall décor program was also thematically similar to Spanish royal throne rooms. As emphasized by art historian Steven Orso, the art patroned by the Habsburgs often featured displays of lineage, military might and moral authority. The paintings that matched these themes were displayed in rooms known as Halls of Princely Virtues. 11

Often these halls used allegorical paintings, portraits, and textiles to present ideal morals, wealth, and illustrious lineage.

One of the most famous of the halls of princely virtues was the Hall of Realms in the Buen Retiro palace, but other such examples were found in most of the Spanish palaces of the early modern era, including the Alcázar of Madrid. The overall Habsburg themes that were present in every Spanish throne room were paralleled in New Spanish homes as a show of loyalty.12 The decoration of these halls of

10 Curiel Méndez, Gustavo. "El Efímero Caudal De Una Joven Noble. Inventario Y Aprecio De Los Bienes De La Marquesa Doña Teresa Francisca María De Guadalupe Retes Paz Vera (Ciudad De México, 1695)." Anales Del Museo De América, no. 8 (2000): 65-101. 11 Ibid. 12 Schreffler, Michael J. The Art of Allegiance : Visual Culture and Imperial Power in Baroque New Spain / Michael Schreffler. 2007. 6 virtues was implemented in Spain by the Habsburg dynasty (ca. 1504-1700)13, and added to by their dynastic successors the Bourbons (1700-present).14 The thematic programing of the Hall of Realms under the Habsburgs has been studied by Johnathan Brown and John H. Elliott. 15 Their research provides a detailed reconstruction of the images that were displayed within the Hall of Realms, thus making it an interesting case study to compare to the salón de dosel.16 The thematic grouping of the paintings within this hall was significant, especially in their relation to the Spanish colonies, just as the portrait of the

Spanish king in Doña Teresa’s salón del dosel created a visual connection between her and Spain.

Similar paintings showing the conquest of New Spain were displayed in the throne rooms of the Alcazar at Madrid.17 These images legitimized the rule of the king within New Spain. Of particular importance were the portraits displayed within this hall, including the portrait of the young prince Baltasar Carlos

(1629-1646). Baltasar Carlos was the son and heir to King Philip IV of Spain; he died at seventeen years old, and never inherited the throne. Yet at the time the decoration of the Hall of Realms was devised, the prince was still alive and his portrait was particularly significant, because it symbolized the future of the

Habsburg dynasty to the guests in the throne room.18 The portraiture found in both the Hall of Realms, and even other throne rooms across early modern Spain, displayed a visual lineage.

The monja coronada portrait functioned in a similar way to the portraits of the Habsburgs within the Hall of Realms. Art historian Michael Brown explained that the portraits, because they often depicted

13 The Habsburg dynasty in Spain began with the crowning of Philip I (ca. 1504), the son of the Holy Roman emperor Maximillian I. The Last Habsburg king was Charles II, who died in 1700. 14 The Bourbon dynasty began in Spain with Philip V. Philip V inherited the throne from his uncle, the Spanish King Charles II in 1700. The Bourbon dynasty continued until 1978 in Spain, although its power was greatly reduced after multiple revolutions in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Juan Carlos de Borbón transitioned Spain to a constitutional monarchy in 1978. 15 Schreffler argued that the architecture and portrait traditions of New Spain were based on Spanish traditions in order for the king to assert his dominance across the sees. He claimed that the palaces of the viceroys (elite noble men governing the American colonies) purposely constructed their palaces to parallel that of the king1, where portraits and paintings would be hung in a similar fashion. Creating this similarity allowed both the viceroys and the king to assert their dominance in the colonies. 16 An image of their reconstruction can be found on page 146 of A Palace for a King 17 Javier Portús “El retrato cortesano en la época de los primeros Austrias: historia, propaganda, identidad” in El Linaje Del Emperador : Iglesia De La Preciosa Sangre, Centro De Exposiciones, ed. Iglesia De La Preciosa Sangre San Jorge, Cáceres : Del 24 De Octubre De 2000 Al 7 De Enero De 2001. 2000. 18 Brown, Jonathan., and Elliott, J. H. A Palace for a King : The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV / Jonathan Brown and J.H. Elliott. Revised and Expanded ed. 2003. 60. 7 the daughters of the household, were viewed as symbols of the family’s future. Brown compares them to the portrait of prince Baltasar Carlos that was displayed within the Hall of Realms in that regard, as he was viewed as the symbol of the Habsburg continued reign.19 To the New Spanish family, the portrait of the daughter represented their continual tie to convent and Spanish Catholic church. But, these portraits did not just provide a parallel to the displays of royal children, and symbolic representations of the future.

A more interesting comparison, not made by Michael Brown, is between the monjas coronadas portraits and the portrait of the queen Isabel, mother of Baltasar Carlos, that was displayed in the throne room at the Buen Retiro (figure 2;1635).20 Her inclusion in the space showed the importance women had in defining royal virtues. While the monjas coronadas portraits were not directly based of the images of the

Spanish queens, they had similar functions. Both images displayed, among many other things, the embodiment of female morality. Monjas coronadas portraits allowed families to connect to the royal court and its virtues through the royal traditions.

Display Culture and Status Through Morality

This visual presentation of both loyalty and morality through the monjas coronadas portraits showed that the elite families of New Spain participated in early modern display culture, as defined by art historian Patricia Simons.21 In a study of portraiture in Renaissance Florence, Patricia Simons has argued that Quattrocento display culture focused on the outward performance and visual representations of morality as evidence of a person’s elite standing and virtue.22 Her approach to analyzing portraiture is relevant when discussing monjas coronadas portraits and New Spanish culture more broadly; as in

19 Ibid. 20 This portrait was exceptional because it was the first to depict a Spanish queen on horseback while she was still alive. Scholars are still unsure about the exact symbolic meaning of this imagery within the throne room, but leading experts argue that the imagery was a reference to the queen’s expanding power as queen consort. 21 Simons, Patricia. "Women in Frames: The Gaze, the Eye, the Profile in Renaissance Portraiture." History Workshop, no. 25 (1988): 4-30. 22 Ibid. 8 fifteenth-century Florence, the performance and display of elite status was imperative for families in New

Spain.23 Simons’s cultural framework provides a tool for analyzing how monjas coronadas portraits were used and displayed as evidence of morality, wealth, and loyalty to the Spanish crown.

The ideal moral woman was written about extensively in Spanish and New Spanish society. As stated in primary writings on early modern morality (such as the 1790 book On the Physical and Moral

Education of Women, poems, and private letters by secular men), women in New Spain were expected to be three main things: virginal, married, and cloistered from society. Eighteenth-century Spanish writers argued that: “Every time a maiden crosses the threshold of her home, she places her beauty, her upbringing, her personality, and her purity on other people’s tongues.”24 These ideals created tension for a woman. No woman could at once be virginal and yet honor the contract of marriage in New Spain, which was to produce children. Furthermore, a woman could not be cloistered from society and yet on view in order to be subject to its scrutiny.

In portraiture, however, a monja coronada able to surpass her peers, being seen as eternally chaste, beautiful, and secluded. Monjas coronadas portraits also allowed women in New Spanish society to be both seen by the elite and yet secluded from society. Those who saw the portraits, displayed in the salón de dosel, were able to discern the woman's elite status and purity without her physical presence in front of them. This allowed the young woman to stay modest and secluded while also being able to display her morality. The portraits–like the images of Quattrocento women discussed by Simons– confined the crowned nun within the frame. She could stay forever pure within the boundary of the frame, for she had little environmental or social connection that could later be called into question.

Monjas coronadas portraits were able to bypass the rigid decorum presented in Spanish writings, allowing the image of the women to be on display and judged, while allowing the bodies to be hidden

23 Larvin and Diaz both define how the performance of elite status was a source of anxiety for New Spanish Elite families. 24 Mcspadden, Isabel Guerra, Gaite, Carmen Martín, Tomsich, María G., and Gaite, Carmen Martin. "Love Customs in Eighteenth Century Spain." Hispania 75, no. 5 (1992): 1201-1202. 9 from the public.25

Monjas Coronadas and the Display of Dowries

The elaborate costuming of Sor María also served as a visual display of her convent dowry, through both the jewelry and textiles. Monjas coronadas portraits not only suggested social standing through church and court connections, but defined a family’s financial stability by visually showcasing their daughter’s dowry that was paid to the convent. Convents required dowries for women seeking to become a black veiled nun (a fully cloistered nun of the highest rank within the convent. The honor was only opened to those of the elite castes).26 Visually depicting the dowry within the monjas coronadas portraiture allowed families to legitimize their wealth and therefore status.

The portraits of Sor María visually displays this dowry through the extravagant jewelry monjas coronadas were often adorned. Figure 4 is a detail of Sor María’s crown and veil, and figure 5 is a detail of her left hand; both images show the jewels Sor María wears. Pearls are woven into her flowered crown and sown into the edge of her veil, framing Sor María’s face. Because of their close proximity to María’s face, the viewer must acknowledge them. The ring on Sor María’s left hand is not only a reference to her marriage to Christ, but also her parents’ wealth. Such a ring was commonly seen in monjas coronadas portraits, appearing in the images depicting Sor Juana de la Cruz.27 The pearls and the ring alluded to the family’s wealth, and would be counted as an asset of Sor María’s dowry.28 The jewelry and clothing depicted on Sor María also defined her elite status. Jewelry was a signifier of caste within Spain and New

Spain, as those of lower ranks were prohibited from wearing certain jewelry and gems. Yet, elite persons

25 Simons, Patricia. "Women in Frames: The Gaze, the Eye, the Profile in Renaissance Portraiture." History Workshop, no. 25 (1988): 4-30. 26 Díaz, Mónica. Indigenous Writings from the Convent : Negotiating Ethnic Autonomy in Colonial Mexico / Mónica Díaz. First Peoples (2010). 2010. 27 Hammer, 90. 28 Hoberman, Louisa Schell. Mexico's Merchant Elite, 1590-1660 : Silver, State, and Society / Louisa Schell Hoberman. 1991. 10 also had to be wary of not showing too much ostentation. Those who showcased their wealth to such an ostentatious degree, secularly and on a daily basis, were suspect.29 New Spanish sumptuary laws regulated the display of wealth, and created easily recognizable signifiers for a person’s rank and class.

The inclusion of the pearl and other gems found on both the portraits of Sor María Ignacia and Sor Juana were important signifiers for their families.30 The jewelry not only presented the vast wealth of the families–who wear able to afford such ornamentations--but also their elite status, as their daughters were allowed to be displayed in an ostentatious manner because of their status as Brides of Christ.

The monjas coronadas portraits referred to the expensive textiles that would be included in the daughter’s dowry. This parallel can be seen in the expensive capes in which the monjas coronadas often were depicted wearing. Monjas coronadas portraits often featured elaborate capes dyed in rich hues and decorously embroidered. Such ornamentation suggests that the cape was not a reference to the sitter’s role as a nun, but her status as bride. The portrait of Sor María Ignacia depicts an excellent example of the type of capes depicted on the monjas coronadas. Sor María Ignacia’s cape is long, reaching past her knees. The cape looks to be made out of a heavy material–again, a signifier of her family’s wealth. The dark indigo color provides contrast to the white lace and embroidery. The color was not only a reference to the family’s status (as indigo dye was notoriously known for its expense), but could also be a reference to the blue veil of the Virgin Mary (thus reinforcing the connection to morality and the Catholic Church).

Indeed, the cape worn by Sor María Ignacia looks little like the capes worn by nuns featured in portraits outside of the monjas coronadas genre. The portraits that did depict nuns wearing capes outside of the monjas coronadas genre, depict very austere, simple garments. Such capes can be seen on Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (figure 6). Juana Ines is pictured with a white veil and simple cloak. The cloak lacks the lace, embroidery, and color of Sor María Ignacia’s (figure 1) garments. It can be inferred, then, that the elaborate garments were not the convention for all portraits depicting nuns; instead the ornamentation of the monjas coronadas capes were indicators of their elevated status as brides.

29 Ibid. 30 Ibid. 11

Beyond indicating that the sitter was a Bride of Christ, the capes featured in a monja coronada portrait also directly referenced the family’s vast wealth. The capes depicted in Sor María Ignacia’s monjas coronada portrait look similar to the textiles found in the dowries.31 Both capes prominently feature flower motifs, and other patterns that were seen in woven textiles. The flower motifs embroidered into the capes of the monjas coronadas portraits parallel the motifs seen in the tapestries and textiles used as a woman’s dowry.32 These visual allusions to expensive textiles were important for New Spanish elite families, as they reinforced their status through material wealth. Often textiles were the main source of wealth a woman would receive in her dowry.33 Primary sources that described the imports and exports from the Spanish colony of Cuba helped scholars to better understand the importance of textiles. According to Jorge F. Rivas Pérez, “no doubt these luxurious textiles, imported at great expense from Spain, were symbols of wealth and social standing for Cubaguan nouveaux riches.”34 Such overt references to family wealth allowed relatives of the crowned nuns to reaffirm their status within New

Spanish society.

The genre of monjas coronada portraiture also allowed families to circumvent sumptuary laws that tried to regulate the amount of ostentatious display among the elite. The portrait of Sor María, with her highly embroidered cape and veil, and the pearls that adorn her crown, veil and wrists, is lavish. But, she was allowed to be displayed in such an ostentation manner–without rebuke– because of her status as a

Bride of Christ. It was imperative that the monjas coronada dressed in splendor because that represented

31 Hoberman, 120. 32 An example of the types of textiles used can be found in Elena Phipps conference speech “New Textiles in a New World: 18th Century Textile Samples from the Viceregal Americas, available to download at: http://www.academia.edu/13716117/New_Textiles_in_a_New_World_18th_Century_Textile_Samples_from_the_V iceregal_Americas 33 Ibid. 34 Jorge F. Rivas Pérez ““Domestic Display in the Spanish Overseas Territories” in “Behind Closed Doors.” ed. Richard Aste. The Monacelli Press and Brooklyn Museum, 2013. 49-50; The textiles were strictly part of the woman’s domain and hung on the family walls to display her family wealth to visitors

12 the glory of Christ. 35 The portrait, and the visual documentation of the family’s wealth, would then be displayed because it validated the marriage to the rest of New Spanish society.

Conclusions

The monja coronada portrait genre declined during the nineteenth century. At first, ornate styles of dress were gradually changed in favor of more conservative garments.36 Photography, too, dramatically altered the genre; the painted portraits were replaced by photographs.37 Yet, during the eighteenth century, monjas coronadas portraits were true reflections of New Spain’s anxieties. The portraits of Sor María and Sor Juana had to show both a sense of religious reverence because of their close association to the

Catholic Church, and yet had to respond to the intention of their elite family members. Their families displayed the images within the home with specific, secular, intent. The image of Sor María and Sor

Juana performing the most elite values for New Spanish women was able to legitimize their relative’s elite standing in New Spanish society. By considering the aspects of display and performance that were vital to monjas coronada genre, we can better understand how the families of New Spain used the portraits to advance their own agendas in New Spanish society.

35 In her article, “Women in Frames” Simons states that the bride’s dress directly symbolized the wealth and status of her groom. As the monja coronada is the bride of Christ, her splendor symbolizes his status. 36 Hammer, 99. 37 Cordova, “Visual Strategies”, 259. 13

Figure 1

José de Alcíbar, Sor María Ignacia de la Sangre de Cristo, profession portrait (Urbanist Franciscan). 1777. Oil on canvas. Chapultepec Castle (National Museum of History)

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Figure 2

Diego Velázquez, Retrato ecuestre de Isabel de Borbón. ca. 1635, Prado Museum

15

Figure 4

José de Alcíbar, (Detail) Sor María Ignacia de la Sangre de Cristo, 1777, National Museum of History (Chapultepec Castle)

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Figure 5

José de Alcíbar, (Detail) Sor María Ignacia de la Sangre de Cristo, 1777, National Museum of History (Chapultepec Castle)

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Figure 6

Fray Miguel de Herrera, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Institue of Mexican Culture.

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