The Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales, literally the "Monastery of the Royal Discalced", resides in the former palace of Emperor Charles V and Empress Isabel of Portugal.

Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spain's finest Renaissance composer, worked at the convent from 1587 to the end of his life in 1611.

Among the priceless art masterpieces are Titian's Caesar's Money, tapestries woven to designs by Rubens,[4] and works by Hans de Beken and Brueghel the Elder.

The museum collection also includes such rarities as portraits of royal children of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the late 16th century,[5] referring to Polish–Spanish relations that inspired Calderón's La vida es sueño.

In 1863 the altar was replaced by one commissioned in 1716 by Philip V of Spain to commemorate the beatification of the French Jesuit John Francis Regis, including canvases by Michel-Ange Houasse.