the Eyes of Columbus
Now here is an interesting exercise in 'seeing': 'the Eyes of Columbus'.
First: there is no putative (real) portrait of Columbus. Some sources say that they are close to knowing what he looked like, but no one really knows for sure.
So second is: "What do they think he looked like?". And to give an answer to that, it all depends on your expectations.
"Cristopher COLUMBUS, Italian Cristoforo Colombo, Spanish Cristóbal Colón (born between Aug. 26 and Oct. 31?, 1451, Genoa, Italy - died May 20, 1506, Valladolid, Spain), master navigator and admiral whose 4 transatlantic voyages (1492–93, 1493–96, 1498–1500, and 1502–04) opened the way for European exploration, exploitation, and colonization of the Americas. He has long been called the “discoverer” of the New World, although Vikings such as Leif Eriksson had visited North America five centuries earlier.
Columbus made his transatlantic voyages under the sponsorship of Ferdinand II and Isabella I, the Catholic Monarchs of Aragon, Castile and Leon in Spain. He was at first full of hope and ambition, an ambition partly gratified by his title 'Admiral of the Ocean Sea', awarded to him in April 1492, and by the grants enrolled in the Book of Privileges (a record of his titles and claims); however, he died a disappointed man"
see slide: # 17-05
Take the keywords: explorer, exploiter, colonizer, 'Admiral of the Ocean Sea', a disappointed man ..
Now look at the following images, watch his eyes, and tell me what you see:
His eyes must have already seen things, unimaginable for us now, even before he started. What we want to see in his portrait is the endurance and horror he must have seen.
Examples:
As in Caravaggio or the pope in Francis Bacon.
May I start with my favourite? Here is a young man, full of ambition, determined to find India. (slide: # 17-05a)
portrait "Christophe Colomb" by Marie-Madeleine Gérard reproduction: Wikipedia - creative commons
This is the most likely portrait of him :
There is a song which goes: "Life is no circus and I ain't no clown", but this is coming close, is it not? Must be the fashion (slide # 11-05k) of the times, and look at his eyes: disappointed!
(slide: # 17-05b)
'Christopheorus Columbus Ligur, Indiaru Prim'Invet Ao 1492'
Original copperplate engraving (1595)
Theodore de BRY (1561 - 1623)
after Sebastiano del PIOMBO (Italian, c. 1485-1547)
this is an original Plate from Part 5 of de Bry's famous set of 'Grand Voyages'. This collection of voyages described the discovery of America and is a foundation work of early Americana.
"Gentle reader ..", wrote de Bry: "The King annd Queen of Spain commissioned a leading artist of the day to paint a portrait of columbus so there would be some memory of him if he failed to return. I recently optained the original of this portrait and, so you could see it, I have had it etched in bronze by my son and offer it to you now">
There still exist about 80 early portraits of Columbus but all these are thought to have been painted posthumously. If, therefore, de Bry's claim is true, this engraving, beautifully decorated with flora and fauna, perhaps resembles the great explorer more closely than any other. (small> text from Ebay-seller)
It is an engraving, made by Jean de Bry, son of Theodor de Bry about whom we come to speak later and it is made after a portrait by Sebastiano del Piombo. (slide: # 17-05e)
Morphed´ image of Columbus from eight separate prints
(slide: #17-05b)
made by Paul Martin Lester. Originally published in Visual Anthropology, Vol. 7, pp. 97-98. Morphing technology was used to produce a composite portrait of Christopher Columbus.
From the Virgen de los Navegantes (in the Sala de los Almirantes of the Royal Alcazar in Seville). Painted by Alejo Fernández between 1531 and 1536. It is supposed to be the only sponsored portrait of Cristoforo Colombo, the first Admiral of the Indias of Castile, called in the Castilian language Don Cristóval Colón.
Photo by Columbus historian Manuel Rosa. More info at the Unmasking Columbus website: www.UnmaskingColumbus.com
COLUMBUS - Cristoph Columbus portrait Artist : Cristofano dell'ALTISSIMO (1525-1605) 'Portrait, Christopher Columbus' Date: 1556, oil on canvas Height: 59 cm (23.2 in). Width: 42 cm (16.5 in). Current location: Found in the collection of Musei Civici di Como ©: Public Domain Wikimedia.org
see slide: #17-05dThis is the portrait after which the first engraving was made: Columbus must have had protruding eyes and a aquiline nose, but that was something royals and nobles would like to be portrayed with, at least in those days ..
Portrait of a young Christopher Columbus. Found in the Collection of Accademia di San Luca (Rome, Italy)
02 January, 1754
unknown artist
Christopher Columbus
Link: water-artproject.blogspot.com/2021/01/christopher-columbus.html
Teacher's links:
Colonial Mercantilism slide # 11-05f (with a villa of de Medici in the background)
references: - https://columbus.vanderkrogt.net/texts/portrait.html - https://www.vanderkrogt.net/statues/columbus_gallery/index.html - http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/admiral.html (defunct)