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Secondary sourcePainting1750

Portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Miguel Cabrera · 1750

An oil painting by Miguel Cabrera showing Sor Juana seated at her desk amid books, the most famous image of her as scholar and nun.

This posthumous portrait shaped the enduring image of Sor Juana as a scholar and defines how she is remembered today.

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Oil painting of a nun in a white habit and black veil seated at a red-draped table with an open book, quill pens, and an inkstand. Behind her are shelves of leather-bound books, a clock, and an inscribed plaque. A rosary hangs from her lap and a cross is on her chest.
Miguel Cabrera, Portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, 1750. Chapultepec Castle.

About this source

What it is

This oil painting by Miguel Cabrera, dated 1750, shows Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz seated at a red-draped table with an open book, quill pens, and an inkstand. Behind her are shelves of books, a clock, and an inscribed plaque. It is held at Chapultepec Castle.

Why it matters

Painted decades after her death, it became the canonical image of Sor Juana as a learned nun and writer. It reflects how later generations in New Spain remembered her as a scholar surrounded by the tools of study and writing, shaping the way she is still pictured today.

Look closer

  • What objects surround her, and what do they suggest about how she wanted to be remembered — or how Cabrera wanted her remembered?
  • Why might an artist painting decades after her death choose to show her in a library rather than praying?
  • What does the painting leave out about her life or struggles?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Juana Inés de la Cruz on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Open book showing the title page of 'Fama, y obras posthumas del Fenix de Mexico' by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, published in Madrid in 1714. A library stamp and a number 157448 appear on the left page.Letter

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Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz · 1691

Printed page from a 1714 edition of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz's works, headed 'Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz' and 'REDONDILLAS', with the poem 'Hombres necios' printed in two columns of Spanish verse in old-style typeface, page number 85 at top right.Book

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Hombres necios

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Title page of 'Poemas de la única poetisa americana, musa décima, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz', Madrid 1714, first volume. Printed in black letter with large capitals, listing the author as a religious professed in San Jerónimo, Mexico City, and the dedication to Saint Joseph and Saint Teresa.Book

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Primero sueño

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz · 1692

Title page of a 1695 printed broadside in Spanish, with an ornate border. Heading reads 'Protesta de la fe, y renovación de los votos religiosos, que hizo, y dejó escrita con su sangre la M. Juana Inés de la Cruz, Monja Profesa en S. Gerónimo de Mexico.' Below: an indulgence notice, a central 'JHS' monogram, and the imprint 'En Mexico, por Doña Maria de Benavides Viuda de Juan de Ribera. Año de 1695.'Document

Primary source

Protesta de la fe y renovación de los votos religiosos

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz · 1695

Title page of Inundación Castalida, 1689, by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Text in old Spanish typeface names her as the unique poetess, religious of San Jerónimo in Mexico City, and gives the dedication to the Condesa de Paredes, Marquesa de la Laguna, and the publisher Juan García Infanzón in Madrid.Book

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Inundación castálida

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz · 1689

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