Portrait of Ramirez-Cantillana, unknown maker from Mexico

This portrait features Ramírez-Cantillana, a Catholic priest who was born in 1748. Although his first name is obscured, his last name links him with fellow Catholic priest José Antonio Alzate y Ramírez (1737–1799) and Catholic nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1651–1695). They were both important philosophers in New Spain, a territory of Spain that covered much of modern Mexico and the United States.

According the portrait’s inscription, Ramirez-Cantillana received “dos ordenes sacros,” or two holy orders on November 3, 1771. The inscription identifies him as coming from Mexico rather than New Spain. Many of Mexico’s Catholic clergy during the late 1700s were creole, or people of Spanish descent born in the Americas, rather than Spanish. Many creole priests were leading cultural promoters and thinkers, including Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811) who called for Mexico’s independence in 1810.