Juan Gómez de Mora, a pupil of Herrera and architect of the Plaza Mayor, was commissioned by Margaret of Austria, the consort of Philip III, to build the Augustinian Convento de la Encarnación, which originally adjoined the royal Alcázar with which it is connected by a long passageway (the foundation stone was laid in 1611, the consecration taking place in 1616). After a fire the church was rebuilt in 1767 by Ventura Rodríguez and its interior completely redesigned.
Today the visitor is likely to be a astonished by the contrast between the simple unadorned facade, reminiscent of El Escorial and very characteristic of the Habsburg style of architecture, and the overcharged Baroque style of the interior. Since 1965 part of the convent has been turned into a museum and opened to the public. Apart from the many paintings from the 17th century and items of furniture, the collection of relics is of particular note.
Within the Convento de la Encarnación, which has been open to the public since 1965, ten rooms can be visited. In the very first room the visitor finds himself in the austere and yet attractive atmosphere of a 17th C. convent. The paneled doors, the exposed beams of the ceiling and the portraits of Habsburg kings recall the world of Lope de Vegas comedias. A landscape by Peter van der Meulen, "Entrega en el Bidasoa", commemorates the marriage between Anne of Austria, daughter of Philip III, and Louis XIII of France on an island in the Bidasoa (the river marking the frontier between France and Spain).
The pictures on show include notable works by 17th C. Madrid artists including Juan Carreño, Bartolomé Román, Carducho and Antonio de Pereda. Works by leading religious sculptors of the 17th C. such as Gregorio Hernández (Fernández), José de Mora and Pedro de Mena represent this typically Spanish field of art.
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