ABSTRACT
A late-seventeenth-century satirical riddle about Queen Mariana of Austria (1634-96) aptly addresses the difficulty of assessing her role on the Spanish political stage. 'Question: Why is the Queen like an egg? Answer: Because she is neither fish nor fowl.'1 The riddle underscores the difficulty of defining Mariana's identity at the Spanish court and the uncertain nature of her power. Her identity was complex and the nature of her power never fully established. When her husband and uncle, King Philip IV (1621-65) died in 1665, Mariana became the Queen Regent of Spain, a position she maintained tenuously during the minority of her frail son, Carlos (later Carlos II, 1661-1700). For reasons outlined below, Mariana never possessed full sovereign authority over Spain, nevertheless she exerted substantial influence at court. Against considerable odds, she established her favorites in positions of power, held substantial control over Carlos II, and deflected repeated attempts by Don Juan Jose of Austria (1629-79) to situate himself at court. In 1677, however, Juan Jose, Philip IV's ambitious illegitimate son, prevailed over Mariana and her supporters and claimed control of the Spanish monarchy for the next two years, sending the Queen Regent into exile. Over the years, the troubled relationship between Juan Jose and his stepmother, aunt, and cousin Mariana played out not only at court proper, but also on other stages. This essay will consider the connection between political power and the visual arts at the Spanish royal palace-convent Nuestra Senora de la Consolation (known as the Descalzas Reales), with a particular emphasis on the function and resonances of portraiture. Both Mariana and Juan Jose had an interest in the function of art at the Descalzas Reales, and during Juan Jose's two years in control of the monarchy he commissioned changes and additions to the artistic program there.
