Portrait of Hermana Francisca Leal y Bidrio, 1840. Felix Zarate, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Oil on canvas: 78"x 47" framed. Purchased with funds generously provided by the Robert J. Kleberg and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation		3 of 11
		PORTRAIT OF HERMANA FRANCISCA LEAL Y BIDRIO his life-size portrait is an important example of a genre of painting used to depict young women just as they entered the convent. Usually referred to as monjas coronadas, or crowned nuns, these portraits represent the last bit of vanity before acceptance of a life renouncing the material world. La Hermana Francisca, dressed as a “bride of Christ” is attired in the habit of her order, the Dominicans. In her right hand she carries a lit candle, symbol of fidelity and eternal Christian light. In her left hand, she holds an image of the Christ child. Her crown, representative of victory over sin, is decorated with images of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, San Caetayno, and an unidentified figure. Hanging around her neck is a rosary and attached to the front of her vestment is a disc of the Dominican Order, from which is suspended an oval containing a representation of Saint Dominic.