1. Introduction

Amid the 17th-century Andean world, where the Spanish colonial empire asserted its power and Catholicism reigned supreme, art was both a political tool and a spiritual necessity. Quito, a flourishing city in today’s Ecuador, was one of the cultural hearts of South America. Amid this fervent artistic production emerged a woman whose name is only whispered in historical footnotes: Isabel de Cisneros also known as Isabel de Santiago.

Isabel de Cisneros (1666 – ca. 1714) was a notable female painter from the colonial period, born in Quito, Ecuador. She came from a family of artists; her father, Miguel de Santiago, was a prominent painter in the Quito School, a style that uniquely combined European artistic techniques with Indigenous influences. Although she is often referred to as Isabel de Santiago, she chose to identify herself as Cisneros, reflecting her mother’s family name.

Isabel was deeply immersed in the artistic traditions of the Quito School from a young age. Despite the limitations placed on women in her time, she actively painted, taught, and played a significant role in the development of religious art in colonial Latin America. Her life represents not only a struggle for recognition but also a celebration of talent and dedication, highlighting her contributions to the art world during this period.

2. Early Life: Family, Origins, and Education

Isabel de Santiago was born around 1666 in the city of Quito, part of the Viceroyalty of Peru (now Ecuador), at a time when the Catholic Church commissioned a great deal of sacred artwork to convert and instruct Indigenous peoples. Her father was the Spanish painter Antonio de Santiago, who was himself the student of the renowned Miguel de Santiago (no familial relation), one of the most prominent Baroque artists of the Quito School.

Isabel’s mother remains unnamed in surviving records, but it’s evident from her father’s workshop structure that Isabel was raised in an environment where art was ever-present. She likely received her early training from her father, just as her male counterparts did, and would have had direct exposure to sketches, altarpieces, pigments, and devotional iconography from childhood. She was known to work closely alongside her father, contributing to commissions that adorned churches and religious institutions across Quito.

Whether she had siblings is unknown, though it was common in artisan families for children, male and female, to assist in the workshop. However, only Isabel’s name appears in connection with her father’s work, suggesting either her exceptional skill or an unusual openness on her father’s part to foster her career.

3. Mentors and Influences: Learning in the Shadows

Isabel’s main mentor was almost certainly her father, Antonio de Santiago, a professional painter with formal ties to the Miguel de Santiago workshop. While Isabel may have never had access to a formal academy like those in Europe, the artistic community in Quito functioned through workshops and apprenticeships—a method that allowed women, when permitted by their families, to acquire skills informally.

Antonio de Santiago himself had learned under Miguel de Santiago (1626–1706), whose style deeply influenced Quito’s Baroque aesthetic. His works were characterized by dramatic lighting, pious expressions, and careful rendering of fabrics and anatomical detail. Isabel, therefore, inherited a lineage of techniques rooted in Spanish tenebrism and Flemish realism, filtered through a local lens.

Given the collaborative nature of workshops, Isabel likely learned not only how to paint but also how to mix pigments, prepare canvases, gild frames, and copy European prints, especially those of artists such as Murillo, Zurbarán, and even Raphael, whose engravings circulated widely in the colonies.

4. Notable Artworks and Their Fate

As with many women artists of the time, especially in colonial contexts, no surviving paintings signed by Isabel de Santiago have been definitively identified. However, several works attributed to her or believed to be by her hand were documented by art historians who studied the Miguel de Santiago School and its branches.

It is believed that Isabel contributed to collaborative works such as:

• Altarpieces for the Church of San Francisco in Quito, especially depictions of the Virgin and Saints.
• Religious iconography of Saint Marian figures, especially in miniature or retablo form.
• Portraiture of female religious figures such as nuns or beatas, as these were common devotional commissions for women artists.

Art historians speculate that many unsigned religious paintings in Quito’s Convent of Santa Clara and Cathedral of Quito may bear her touch, especially those featuring intricate lace, feminine grace, and careful textile detailing.

Isabel’s fate is one shared by many female colonial artists: their works often remained anonymous, signed under the workshop master’s name, or were later attributed to male contemporaries. Still, stylistic analyses point to her significant participation in her father’s commissions and to her talent as a colorist and detailer.

5. Recognition and Male Contemporaries

Isabel lived and worked during the Baroque golden age of the Quito School. Her male contemporaries included:

• Miguel de Santiago, the dominant figure of Quito’s painting scene.
• Nicolás Javier de Goríbar, known for idealized religious themes.
• Manuel Chili (Caspicara), an Indigenous sculptor whose expressive wood sculptures defined colonial ecclesiastical art.

Though Isabel never received the institutional recognition these men enjoyed, she was known in her time for her talents. Her name appears in colonial inventories and workshop documents, and in one instance, was referenced by an ecclesiastical patron who praised her “delicate feminine hand” in a Marian depiction. While this was a gendered and limiting compliment, it showed that her art stood out even in comparison to the dominant male narrative.

6. Style and Technique

Isabel’s work was deeply embedded in the stylistic DNA of the Quito School: a regional Baroque hybrid of European Catholicism and Indigenous artistry. Her likely contributions reflect:

• Strong chiaroscuro: A dramatic contrast of light and shadow, influenced by Spanish tenebrists.
• Exquisite detail: Especially in fabric, lace, and jewelry—a reflection of female attention to domestic and religious symbols.
• Emotionally expressive faces: Her figures often appear soft, human, and approachable—less divine abstraction, more accessible piety.
• Use of local materials: Like cochineal, gold leaf, and indigenous woods, materials commonly used in Andean religious art.

These features made her contributions highly sought after for altars, chapels, and convents where personal devotional items were central.

7. Struggles, Silence, and Quiet Victory

As a woman of Spanish descent in colonial Quito, Isabel occupied a complex social position. She was not Indigenous, and thus not subjected to the same forms of systemic exclusion, but as a woman, her access to recognition, commissions, and independent income was severely restricted.

Among her challenges:

Patriarchal Limitations: In the context of the art world during Isabel’s time, the prevailing patriarchal structure imposed significant limitations on women artists. As a result, only male artists were permitted to sign their works, officially appear in guild records, or secure major commissions from influential institutions such as the church. This systemic exclusion not only hinders women’s visibility and recognition but also severely restricts their professional opportunities. Isabel, for instance, was obligated to operate within her father’s studio. This environment, while potentially enriching in terms of artistic training, also stripped her of legal independence and the opportunity to cultivate her own artistic identity.

Religious Constraints: Isabel’s role as a Catholic woman in a colonial society came with stringent expectations surrounding behavior and societal contribution. Women were often culturally expected to embody ideals of modesty, obedience, and domesticity.

In this context, pursuing a career in painting, even when it involved creating religious artwork, was frequently regarded as unorthodox and inappropriate. For many women, artistic endeavors were largely confined to convents, where a semblance of societal acceptance could be found. Thus, Isabel’s aspirations were not only challenged by her gender but also by the dominant religious ideologies that dictated women’s roles.

Religious constraints: As a Catholic woman in colonial society, she was expected to embrace modesty, obedience, and domesticity. Painting, even religious painting, was often viewed as unorthodox for women, unless it was practiced within convents.

Lack of Documentation: The historical documentation (or lack thereof) surrounding Isabel’s contributions to art is a clear reflection of the overarching gender biases of her time. Records detailing her work were often erased, overlooked, or buried within narratives dominated by male figures, further obscuring her accomplishments.

Anonymity: The anonymity of many of Isabel’s works further compounded the challenges she faced. A significant number of her paintings were either left unsigned or misattributed to her father, thereby depriving her of the rightful credit and recognition she deserved. This lack of acknowledgment not only affected her legacy as an artist but also contributed to the ongoing narrative of male dominance in art history, where many talented women were overlooked in the shadow of their male counterparts.

This erasure not only diminishes her contributions as an artist but also reflects a larger pattern of neglect towards women artists throughout history, whose stories and works remain underrepresented and undervalued.

By exploring these themes, it becomes evident how formidable the barriers were for women like Isabel de Santiago, who aspired to make their mark in a predominantly male arena. Their struggles serve as a poignant reminder of the systemic challenges that women in the arts have historically faced, underscoring the need for greater recognition and equal opportunities within the creative fields.

Yet Isabel de Santiago persisted. Despite the silencing, Isabel de Santiago left her mark. She became an essential figure in her workshop, training others and likely serving as a role model to younger women who saw her wield a brush with mastery. The very fact that Isabel’s name survived, even in fragmented colonial archives, is evidence of her exceptionalism.

8. Call to Action: Raising Isabel’s Voice

Isabel de Santiago may not have left behind signed masterpieces, but her legacy is no less significant. She represents countless women artists whose talents were consumed by a system that saw them only as assistants, not creators.

To honor Isabel de Santiago is to recognize that creativity flourishes in every corner, even when ignored by the powerful. Her silent brush, moving across sacred canvas, left a legacy of color, faith, and feminine strength.

Follow N1Gallery.com to explore more stories of forgotten women artists who shaped the world from behind the scenes and now deserve center stage. Next, explore Grace Hartigan: Defiant Abstract Expressionism