Miguel Cabrera and the Congregación de la Purísima

Abstract

This article examines the relation between Miguel Cabrera and the Society of Jesus through the analysis of the engraved portrait made of the Jesuit Juan Antonio de Oviedo and members of his social circle. It also examines the possibility that the “Miguel Cabrera” whose signature appears in an official capacity in the Book of the Congregación de la Limpia Concepción de Nuestra Señora in 1761 was the famous painter of New Spain. Since this was one of the most prestigious Marian congregations of the Jesuits, the question arises of how this kind of information regarding the socio-religious activities of painters might broaden our knowledge not only of their individual professional careers but also of the paths taken by painting in general in a period when an academic project was being forged.