Maria Francisca de Saboia's portrait

Josefa de Obidos is the daughter of the painter Balthazar Gomez Figuiera. Originally from Spain, she migrated to Portugal, where she was a pupil of her father. She began her career with a series of engravings of the city of Coimbra, which allowed her to create works in convents and churches. 

During her career, she produced a majority of still lifes but also portraits, such as that of “Princess Maria Francisca Isabelle of Savoy”. It depicts the young princess, richly dressed and in a position of prayer, kneeling with joined hands, surmounted by a protective angel. With his brother, his brother-in-law and his assistant, they form the School of Obidos, named after a village, in which we find a real artistic and literary court. 

Josefa de Obidos, will be the tutelary figure of this movement and will be considered as the most important Portuguese painter of the 17th century.