Descalzas Reales Convent

L a Capilla de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe es reconocida como uno de los máximos ejemplos del arte cortesano y de las devociones en el Madrid barroco [ ]. Concentra una esmerada factura, un diseño suntuoso y un alambicado despliegue iconológico en torno a una imagen devocional, renovando y reinterpretando las tradiciones del propio monasterio que la alberga, sin olvidar el ineludible timbre dinástico que remacha toda intervención en la fundación de la princesa Juana de Habsburgo. Precisamente por el rango del monasterio y sus conexiones con palacio supondría un escalón importante en la ascendente carrera de su artífice, quien acabaría ocupando el puesto de maestro mayor de obras reales ( 1662 ) y pintor de cámara ( 1667 ). Sebastián de Herrera Barnuevo ( 1619-1671 ) no solo demostró en este altar un completo dominio de las tres artes, sino que dejó testimonio del refinamiento alcanzado en la corte de Felipe IV, pues su formación y carrera fueron enteramente madrileñas. Al ser una de sus pocas obras conservadas, constituye un vestigio de primer orden de un artista decisivo en la implantación del pleno barroco.

Artículo que analiza los orígenes de la fundación de las Descalzas Reales y sus principales aspectos devocionales y los espacios que generan en el edificio.
En "Pinturas murales de la escalera principal. Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales", de la colección Obras Maestras Restauradas, Patrimonio Nacional-BBVA, 2010, pp. 11-38.

La monarquia de Felipe II a debate, ed. Luis Ribot. Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoraciön de los Centenarios
de Felipe II y Carlos V, Madrid, 2000

This essay explores the patronage and collections of Juana and Maria of Austria, not only at their respective courts in Spain and Austria, but also during their residencies at the Descalzas Reales Convent in Madrid. This convent founded in 1555, was built by Juana after 1557. The author sourced many unpublished documents and inventories from archives in Spain and in Portugal. A number of documents located in Lisbon, proves for the first time that the renowned court architect, Juan de Herrera, designed Juana of Austria's funerary chapel in the Descalzas convent. Pompeo Leone, court sculptor, was commissioned to executed Juana's funerary statue.

Princess Joanna of Austria was one of the most relevant private collectors and patronesses in the second half of the Spanish sixteenth century. Yet, her figure has been eclipsed by her brother, King Philip II. Upon moving to the Madrid court, she will occupy palace rooms adjacent to those of the Queen’s and the Infantas,’ for whom she will set an example. During several celebrations she would stay in her chambers at the Descalzas Reales Convent, which she founded herself. The study of her figure requires considering the inventory of goods drafted upon her death in 1573, an inventory which is now systematically published for the first time. This document is also put into context by means of others, also of great relevance, such as the maternal inheritance, the 1553 dowry, or her limited auction, among others. This corpus of documents sets the point of departure in order to reconstruct her collection, practically lost.

Study on the Chapel of Christ at the Monastery of Descalzas Reales [Royal Barefoot] in Madrid analyzing its history and its decorative and figurative morphology. The circumstances of origin of this institution explain the liturgical meaning and function of this chapel as a stage for the particular ceremonies of Good Friday and Easter Sunday in this monastery; in the same way, the execution of the work in 1560-1565 ca. by artists of the royal service. New documental evidence is provided about Diego de Urbina and Juan de Cerecedo as painters for Juana de Austria at that moment.

The Seven Archangels are analyzed from an iconographic and cultual approach. From their Italian origin, we trace the path of iconography from Spain to the American viceroyalties, keeping to their original and basic model: the pictorial representation, in the two main currents: the joint one, and the series. The worship agents, give it a look, that goes from monarchical and St. Clare´s order in Spain to missionary in America. The evolution of this cult will be determined, however, by the inquisitorial  censorship motivated by the ambiguous heterodoxy of the matter, and this affected the pictorial and literary production.

| Exhibition Review|
‘La otra Corte: Mujeres de la Casa de Austria en los Monasterios Reales de las Descalzas y la Encarnación’ (Madrid, Palacio Real,  December  to  January ). Catalogue by Fernando Checa Cremades (Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid, ),  pp. incl.  col. ills., £..

Cualquier forma de reproducción, distribución, comunicación pública o transformación de esta obra solo puede ser realizada con la autorización de sus titulares, salvo excepción prevista por la ley. Diríjase a CEDRO (Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos) si necesita fotocopiar o escanear algún fragmento de esta obra (www.conlicencia.com; www.iberoamericana-vervuert.es ISBN 978-84-8489-077-5 (Iberoamericana) ISBN 978-3-95487-714-0 (Vervuert) ISBN 978-3-95487-715-7 (e-book) Depósito Legal: M-16077-2018

Ensayo dentro de la obra "Las Descalzas Reales. Orígenes de una comunidad religiosa en el siglo XVI", Patrimonio Nacional-Caja Madrid Fundación, Madrid 2010, pp. 9-32.
Centrado en la figura de Juana de Austria y en su proyecto de las Descalzas Reales.

¿De dónde viene y a cuándo se remonta el apellido Bach en España? ¿Puede que algún miembro de la familia del gran Johann Sebastian, posiblemente músico, se hubiera afincado de alguna manera en la península ibérica antaño? La presencia de un organista español con este patronímico inequívocamente alemán en la Capilla Musical del convento madrileño de las Descalzas Reales en el siglo XVIII, más el hecho de que en Cataluña, y en particular en la provincia de Gerona, sobrevivan hoy en día muchos Bach, han sido alicientes suficientes para llevar a cabo esta investigación genealógica, que llega nada menos que a la época de los últimos Templarios.

Recent studies have explored how various 16th century Catholic rulers, following Charlemagne, collected relics to deploy as powerful propaganda tools in order not only to refute the heretics, but also to construct national identities. Among such collectors, Philip II of Spain (1527-1598) stands out. The King not only amassed a huge collection at his palace-monastery of El Escorial, but also transformed the building itself into a dynastic reliquary by making it a pantheon for his ancestors and descendants. Significantly, another Spanish convent-palace came to house a significant relic collection: the Descalzas Reales in Madrid. This paper focuses on the outstanding collection of relics at the Descalzas Reales, a neglected topic despite its unique artistic and historical value, and on the role of four Habsburg women as collectors of relics and its implications for their political influence through the medium of gift exchange.

Bosch Moreno, Victoria "funeral ceremonies in the Church of the 141 Descalzas Reales during the second half of 16th century" in O. J. Rojewski and Mirosława Sobczyńska-Szczepańska (eds.) Court, nobles and festivals: Studies on the Early Modern visual culture. Katowice: University of Silesia Press, pp. 141--156

T his exhibition opened in December , was interrupted by COVID-, and remained closed for months. It has reopened this September with an extension until  January . A virtual exhibition is accessible at the Patrimonio Nacional website, which allows viewers to enjoy the show in its entirety and closely study the objects on display. Curated by Fernando Checa Cremades, this exhibition spotlights two convents built in the centre of Madrid: the Descalzas Reales and the Encarnación, both of which were once a stone’s throw from the former royal residence, the Alcázar. Today the Palacio Real stands on the same site, rebuilt after a destructive fire in . The women who founded these religious institutions were two Spanish Habsburg princesses, Juana of Austria (–), sister of Philip II, and Margaret of Austria (–), consort of Philip III. Under Juana’s personal supervision, construction of the Descalzas Reales began in , coming to semi-completion by , while the Encarnación, founded in  just before Queen Margaret’s premature death, was inaugurated in . Both convents and their churches are extremely well-preserved, containing a multitude of donated art works, reliquaries, paintings, portraits, rich textiles and religious objects — many from Asia and the NewWorld — but which have largely remained inaccessible to the public. As active convents, not all rooms can be accessed, and as former royal sites, both are managed today by the Patrimonio Nacional, which organises guided visits. Checa has curated eleven expansive rooms in the Royal Palace, with  artworks (some never exhibited before), which reveal the past and present religious and artistic ambiences of these convents. Permission for some loans were obtained by the abbesses of both institutions, the real custodians of this rich heritage. Many of the artworks and objects, incorporated for centuries into the life and routines of these nuns, are still used daily, or are earmarked for specific religious ceremonies, which makes this exhibition distinctive. This is a show about

In 1605, the Tuscan diplomat Orazio della Renna wrote a Relazione segretta for the Grand Duke Ferdinando I, to be shared with the Grand Duchess Cristina di Lorena.  In his report, Orazio della Renna offered a portrait of the Spanish court and the preferences and tastes of the Spanish royals and courtiers, remarking on the importance of giving gifts secretly, so as to avoid arousing suspicion, discontent or jealousy.  He recommended the strategy of giving gifts by way of the women and wives of ministers, to effect this goal.

During the past decade, scholars have examined gift giving as an aspect of diplomatic practice; however, the presents exchanged by women have yet to receive significant scholarly attention. This paper demonstrates that the Medici, Este and Habsburg women were not only active gift-givers and recipients of presents of all kinds, but they also played a prominent role in diplomatic gift-exchange in the early modern period.  The paper focuses on the presents sent from Florence and Modena to the convent of the Descalzas Reales in Madrid, an ancillary center of power linked to the Spanish court.  Between 1582 and 1633, the Tuscan and Modenese ambassadors delivered a large number of gifts to the Habsburg women living at the Descalzas Reales. Among these gifts, relics and devotional objects were tools of dynastic propaganda, a category of diplomatic gift capable of influencing political alliances and making publicly visible the loyalties—as well as spiritual affects—of early modern Catholics.  The paper traces how, by the end of the sixteenth century, the Spanish courtiers tended to avoid compromising displays of venality, particularly in relation to foreign interests, limiting to devotional objects their public acceptance of diplomatic gifts.

Female royal spaces in Spanish palaces have not received the attention they deserve. Recent studies have focused on royal residences in Madrid; the quarters assigned queens, princesses and their female retinues, however, remain largely unexplored. This session examines public and private feminine spaces at Philip II's court: under scrutiny, Princess and the aristocratic ladies who served them. These royal and noble women were highly educated, political women, who circulated between private, public, male and female spaces, with great flexibility. However, feminine lodgings remained pop up spaces, re-adapted at a moment's notice. Large female households and lack of space created persistent housing problems for Philip II. Where to lodge these royal women and their ladies? Archival documents and correspondence regarding former royal