Portrait of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz
Cabrera, 1750, Oil on canvas 
Sor Juana de la Cruz was a child prodigy in literature 
Creole woman who became a nun in 1669
Feminist culture still survived in Mexican convents where privileged nuns livd in comfort with servants and households
Literary figure, published books that were widely read, also wrote poetry and theatrical pieces
Maintained a great library
Instrumental in giving girls an education in a patriarchal world
Waring the habit of the religious order of the Hermits of St. Jerome including the escudo (framed painting worn belox the neck in spanish society) 
Seated in her library surrounded by symbols of her faith and learning
Portrait derives from an earlier self portrait she made
Done 55 years after her death for her admirers to worship