Sister Isabel Guerra is a nun at the Cistercian monastery of Santa Lucia, Zaragoza in Spain. She is a self-taught painter whose work in oil is often strikingly realistic, at times leaning to classical styles, at other times with more modern elements.
Though she also paints landscapes and still lifes, her primary subjects are portraits of women and girls, usually in naturalistic environments or interiors that incorporate still life subjects, and often bathed in shafts of light.
Though she rejected formal instruction, you can see the influence of painters she has studied, Velásquez, Rembrandt, Vermeer and even Bouguereau. She apparently spent a good deal of time studying paintings at the Prado in Madrid.
She is now an honorary member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Luis and the Real Academia de Bellas Artes y Ciencias Históricas de Toledo.
There is very little biographical information available, The isabelguerra.com website is not official but does have a selection of her works, even if they are not always of good quality. There is a brief interview on El Mundo magazine (ES, Google Translate English here).
[Suggestion courtesy of Aelle Ayres]
This is astonishing. Not only colors and light are superb, also the subjects’ pose and look reveal a deep sense of beauty. A really great artist, can’t think about her being self-taught!!
Wow. The way she has captured the light and the reality of her figures are just mind blowing. You get a real sense of calm from looking at theses works.
She made money with her paintings alright…..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1364629/Millions-closet-Spanish-nuns-tax-dodge-probe-THEY-report-robbery-1-3m-cash-cupboard-convent.html
This is a brilliant work.
Beside the tecnique I just love the way she presented these women… so calm and elegant in watever they do.
Absolutely beautiful.
Thanks for sharing.
More than Beautiful!! “A wonder” Very impressed!!!!!!!