Portrait of Sor Juana, Convento de Santa Paula

What it is

This oil painting, attributed to the painter Juan de Miranda, shows a woman in a black religious habit, white cape and dark veil, holding a small box and wearing a medallion. It is kept at the Convento de Santa Paula in Seville, and this photograph of it was taken in 2016.

Why it matters

The painting is part of a tradition of portraits made of Sor Juana after her death, used to honor her memory as a nun, writer and scholar. Such images shaped how later generations pictured her, even though they were not made during her own documented sittings.

Look closer

• What details in the painting point to her religious life?
• Why might artists have included a medallion or handwritten inscription alongside her image?
• How might an image made after someone's death differ from one made in their lifetime?