Spotlight: Interview with Adela Corral, winner of the 2024-2025 Denis Menjot Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Paper on Iberian History.

Interviewer: Bradley Mollmann (Assistant Professor of History, SLU-Madrid) 

Aevum is delighted to congratulate SLU-Madrid History Major Adela Corral, who has been awarded the inaugural Denis Menjot Prize for Outstanding Undergraduate Paper on Iberian History for her essay Sofonisba Anguissola: Reinforcing the Feminine, Breaking Barriers, and Showing History Through Art. 

This marks the first annual award of the prize, which is presented by the Saint Louis University Center for Iberian Historical Studies (CIHS). Founded in 2023, the CIHS bridges the Missouri and Madrid campuses to promote the study of Iberian History at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional level. Since its founding, the CIHS has hosted lectures, seminars, conferences, and served as a collaborative platform for innovative approaches to Iberian History. 

The prize was established by means of a generous endowment from Prof. Teofilio Ruiz (UCLA), in memory of the distinguished French historian Denis Menjot (1948-2024). An expert in the history of Muslim and Christian Spain and the Mediterranean, Menjot is known for his contributions to the history of languages, food cultures, and the practice of digital humanities. His career reflected a commitment to scholarly openness and interdisciplinary exchange that the CIHS honors with this prize. 

Adela´s essay was chosen from a competitive field of submissions from both campuses for this prestigious prize. Centered on the Italian-born female Renaissance Painter Sofonisba Anguissola who rose to prominence in Madrid at the court of Philip II, Adela’s research explores how Anguissola navigated gender and power dynamics to overcome odds and establish herself as one of the most successful painters of her generation. She wrote the essay as part of her HIST 3090 Age of Renaissance course at SLU Madrid, and it has been published in Aevum in its entirety. (See "Articles" tab above for access to the published essay)

Here, in an exclusive interview, Adela reflects on her essay and the award: 

Bradley Mollmann: Adela, congrats on the much-deserved award! Can you describe what drew you to Sofonisba Anguissola and what you found to be most interesting about her life and career? 

Adela Corral: Thank you so much, Dr. Mollmann! I am honored to receive this award. I discovered Sofonisba Anguissola in the Prado Museum. I saw her portrait of Spanish King Philip II and noticed that it was not only painted by a woman, which was extremely rare at the time, but that her name was not Spanish.

As I investigated further, I realized that her life and some of her other art was proto-feminist. She depicted men in private spaces and women in intellectual endeavors, something quite unique for that time period! I was impressed by her repertoire and wanted to see how she ended up working in King Phillip II’s court. The essay centered around the timeline of her career and life story. 

What fascinated me most about Sofonisba Anguissola was the duality she embodied. While she challenged artistic conventions and pushed boundaries for women, she also upheld the traditional Renaissance values of supporting monarchies, being a devout Catholic, and taking pride in social status. This complex balance between breaking barriers and upholding norms made her life and career compelling to study. 

It was not surprising that her contributions to art were attributed to other Spanish artists like Francisco de Zurbarán. It was only in the twentieth century that art historians realized that these pieces were actually done by Sofonisba Anguissola. Her legacy and history were forgotten. I wanted to revive her legacy as a phenomenal artist and a woman who managed to contribute to Italian and Spanish society in a plethora of ways. 

BM: This award focuses on Iberian History. How do you see your research as contributing to Iberian History? 

AC: Understanding the distinction between Spanish/Portugese history and Iberian history is crucial. Iberian history offers a broader, more global perspective. The significance of the region’s deep history lies in how its legacy impacts all of Europe, it transcends borders. 

Approaching art from a denationalized perspective is key to appreciate the entirety of its significance. Labelling artworks as purely Spanish or Portuguese limits their broader context and importance by confining them to a single nation’s narrative. 

The life and work of Sofonisba Anguissola exemplify the cultural exchange at the heart of Iberian history. Her Italian background, intersecting with Spanish nationalism and Habsburg ideals, produced art that defines perceptions of political ideology, religion, and gender in the period. 

Iberian history is a pivotal part of European History, and in this essay, King Philip II was a crucial part of cultural patronage, development of the arts, and transnational relations in Europe. Let’s not forget he was also a patron of other artists like El Greco, who was not even born in Spain, although people see him as a national emblem…he was actually born in Greece! 

BM: Can you talk a bit more about your academic trajectory as a History major? How does this essay build upon work that you have done in other courses? 

AC: I have been a history major since my second semester of university. I decided to major in this discipline because I actually find it really fun! The readings and research in my history courses are intellectually stimulating and make me think critically. I never thought that by doing something I find fun, I could win an award and have two papers published in AEVUM. 

Having the opportunity to take a diverse range of courses at SLU-Madrid has been pivotal in my academic trajectory. I have been in constant learning and finding new points of interest for my research. Sometimes we like to stay in our comfort zone, and mine personally is Latin American history. However, there are courses like The Age of the Renaissance, that pushed me to discover more about the world of European history 

In these classes, you are challenged to explore new subjects with unfamiliar sources, names, and dates. You have to build up knowledge faster to conduct your own research. This time I needed to do extensive research because I lacked prior understanding of the artist. 

In addition, my background in political science and women & gender studies helped me grasp Sofonisba Anguissola’s historical context in Italian and Spanish society. This interdisciplinary approach, that I get from studying other majors, lets me create a well-rounded analysis. 

Septmeber 18th, 2025