Two Habsburg Women and Two Convents in the Heart of Renaissance Madrid

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