This exhibition highlights two popular genres of 19th-century Mexican
painting commemorating family members who no longer reside in the
household— offering them a lasting presence in the home. The
first intimately portrays deceased individuals in likenesses imbued
with grief and tender remembrance. The second genre is the uniquely
Mexican monja Coronado or “crowned nun” portrait. Images of
flowers adorned Brides of Christ were commissioned by the families of
women who took Catholic ecclesiastical vows and permanently embarked
on cloistered lives.