Crowned in Paradox: Contested Symbolism and Institutional Continuity in Sor María Josepha Lina's Crowned-Nun Portrait

Abstract: This article examines the crowned-nun portrait of Sor María Josepha Lina, a Conceptionist nun in 18th-century New Spain, whose image defies conventional interpretations of these portraits as anti-reformist propaganda. As founder of La Purísima Concepción, the first and only reformed Conceptionist convent in New Spain, María Josepha Lina lived a life of austerity, communal discipline, and strict obedience—principles at odds with the opulence of her portrait, where she is adorned in luxurious fabrics, floral crowns, and jeweled embellishments. Through a close reading of her vida (spiritual biography) and portrait, this article argues that María Josepha Lina's image does not signify rebellion, but rather a convergence of clerical authority, institutional continuity, and Baroque visual tradition. Her portrait reflects a broader system in which artistic conventions and feminine ideals of Marian virtue overshadow the individual self. This study rethinks the role of crowned-nun portraits as sites of ideological control rather than acts of resistance, offering a more nuanced understanding of the tensions between a nun's visual and textual representation, her vows, and her male prelates.