Portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

What it is

This oil painting by Miguel Cabrera, made around 1750, shows a nun seated at a table with a book, quill and inkwell, surrounded by shelves of books and a clock. She wears a white habit and black veil, holds a rosary, and has a medallion on her chest, with a Latin-style inscription at the top.

Why it matters

Painted roughly a hundred years after Sor Juana's death, this portrait was not made from life but reflects how later generations wanted to remember her — as a learned woman surrounded by books and symbols of knowledge. It shows how her reputation as a scholar and writer continued long after she died, and how artists like Cabrera shaped the image people still have of her today.

Look closer

• Since the artist never saw Sor Juana in life, what choices did he have to make about how to show her?
• What do the books, inkwell and clock suggest about how the painter wanted viewers to think of her?
• Why might a painting like this be useful evidence about her reputation, even if it isn't an accurate likeness?