Brief Biography-Josefa de Ayala Figueira, known as Josefa de Óbidos, was born in Saville, Spain. At the age of four, her father took her to his hometown of Óbidos, Portugal. He went to Seville to serve in the military, where he married a noblewoman. He became interested in painting and later became a Court Painter for the House of Bragança in Portugal.
Josefa was resident in the Convent of Santa Ana Coimbra at the age of fourteen, where she painted religious works, still-lifes and portrait commissions. In 1654, while residing in Óbidos, one of her most noted works was a series of engravings for the Statutes of the University of Coimbra. In addition, she painted numerous altarpieces and private commissions, which are on view throughout Portugal. Some of her works were signed ‘Josepha Ayala.’ She died in Óbidos in 1684.