Portrait of Joanna painted in 1557 by Alonso Sánchez Coello. 22 years old, Joanna gazes side-eye impassively at the viewer with her head turned slightly to her right. Her light brown hair is parted in the middle and pulled back on either side in the style of the period. Her extraordinarily beautiful face is tightly framed by a high collar topped with small frills and a headdress featuring a double row of pearls. The painter show her with slightly drooped & heavy eyelids, giving her an expression which, on account of her sideways glance, paradoxically appears both skeptical & somewhat sensuous. At the time this portrait was made, Joanna had already served for three years as the regent of Spain (during the absence of her brother Philip, who had married Queen Mary I & ruled England jointly with her). Widowed at 19, Joanna had given birth to Sebastian, heir to the crown of Portugal, who was four months old when she was recalled to Spain. Sebastian necessarily remained in Portugal; Joanna never saw him again. Despite these many misfortunes and her young age, Joanna is reputed to have governed Spain with prudence and intelligence.
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