*review copy*
Juana, or Joanna of Austria, was the daughter of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Isabella of Portugal.
Born in 1535 as their youngest surviving child, she went on to marry her double first cousin, the 14-year-old John Manuel, Prince of Portugal, when she was 16 years old. She was left a pregnant widow just two years later and gave birth to the future King Sebastian of Portugal in 1554.
However, she was recalled to Spain just six months after her son’s birth to act as regent and would never see her son again.
The Making of Juana of Austria: Gender, Art, and Patronage in Early Modern Iberia, edited by Noelia García Pérez, consists of several essays about different aspects of Joanna’s life. While the essays are all excellent, for me, this book really highlighted how much I would have liked a full biography about this remarkable woman.
The essays range from subjects about her image to representation and display. This may seem rather vague, and some of them do divert a bit from their primary focus. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, but the separate essays give it a different feel.
The Making of Juana of Austria: Gender, Art, and Patronage in Early Modern Iberia edited by Noelia García Pérez is available now in the UK and the US.
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