How does The Nun Jerónima de la Fuente elucidate its History?
First discovered at an exhibition in 1926, the painting was originally attributed to Luis Tristán. Upon restoration, however, Diego Velázquez's signature surfaced. Velázquez painted Jerónima in June 1620 during Jerónima de la Asunción's two-month stop-over in Seville, Spain en route to the Philippines. The painting was commissioned by one of the Franciscans accompanying Jerónima or Alvaro de Villegas, the vicar of the Santa Isabel convent in Toledo.Jerónima is one of the earliest known portraits by Velázquez, and correspondingly one of the earliest records of the "growing cult" of Jerónima, who was "significantly more renowned" than Velázquez at the time of painting. Jerónima helped advance his reputation and significantly aided in his career; he would later become a court painter. The full-length portrait is now on display in Madrid's Museo del Prado, which acquired it from Santa Isabel in 1944. An almost identical copy of the painting remains in Toledo, whereas a half-length version of The Nun Jerónima de la Fuente, painted by either Velázquez or a disciple, is the property of an anonymous collector in Santiago de Chile.
Seville Philippines Museo del Prado vicar Spain Diego Velázquez Franciscans court painter Luis Tristán Santiago de Chile Toledo Madrid Santiago