Resumen de «I am still the same as I was as Queen»: portraiture, networks, and self-fashioning in the widowhood of Mariana of Neuburg

Aoife Cosgrove

• español

  Este artículo examina la autorrepresentación de Mariana de Neuburg, la última reina de España de los Habsburgo, a través de palabras, regalos, acciones e imágenes, destacando el modo en que utilizó el Arte y la cultura material como instrumentos de autofiguración durante su viudez. En el complicado clima político provocado por la Guerra de Sucesión española (1701-1714), Mariana se quedó con pocos aliados y poco poder, lo que la obligó a gestionar cuidadosamente su comportamiento y su imagen. El estudio de la creación de Mariana, en la que el retrato desempeñó un papel central, demuestra que la reina viuda adaptó continuamente su imagen a las circunstancias cambiantes. También se investiga el compromiso de Mariana con el fomento de redes femeninas de apoyo, lo que demuestra lo crucial que era la solidaridad femenina para el mantenimiento de las mujeres viudas o privadas de derechos.

• English

  This article examines the self-representation of Mariana of Neuburg, the last Habsburg queen of Spain, as mediated through words, gifts, actions, and images, highlighting how she used art and material culture as vessels of self-fashioning during her widowhood. In the complicated political climate brought about by the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), Mariana was left with few allies and little power, forcing her to carefully manage her behaviour and her image. By studying Mariana’s self-fashioning, in which her portraiture played a central role, it can be shown that the widowed queen continuously adapted her image to respond to changing circumstances. Mariana’s commitment to fostering female networks of support is also investigated, demonstrating just how crucial female solidarity was to the maintenance of widowed or disenfranchised women.