Nuno Gonçalves (c. 1425 – c. 1491, ''fl.'' 1450–71) was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

artist whose work initiated the Portuguese Renaissance in painting. He was

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

for

Afonso V of Portugal Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Afri ...

from 1450 to 1471, and in 1471 he was appointed the official painter for the city of Lisbon. His surviving masterpiece is the

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a painting (usually panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Specifically, a "diptych" is a two-part work of art; a " triptych" is a three-part work; a tetrapt ...

known as the

Saint Vincent Panels The ''Saint Vincent Panels'', or the ''Adoration of Saint Vincent'' panels, are a polyptych consisting of six panels that were perhaps painted in the 1450s. They are attributed to the Portuguese painter Nuno Gonçalves, who was active from 1450 t ...

Life

The details of his life are almost completely unknown. As a painter, Nuno Gonçalves was active between 1450 and 1472. In 1450 he was appointed court painter by King Afonso V and in recognition of his contributions, he was knighted by Afonso in 1470. In 1471, Gonçalves was appointed the official painter for Lisbon. There is no information regarding his birth, family, or education. Although his history is obscure now, Gonçalves was recognized in his time as an important and talented artist.

Francisco de Holanda Francisco de Holanda (originally ''Francisco d'Olanda;'' 6 September 1517 – 19 June 1585) was a Portuguese court painter and sculptor for King John III of Portugal, and later for Sebastian of Portugal. He wrote what is regarded as the first tr ...

, a 16th-century artist and art historian, called Gonçalves one of the foremost painters of his era. Today, the only work that can be assigned to him with any confidence is the polyptych, ''Saint Vincent Panels'', originally presented to the Cathedral of Lisbon by Afonso V to commemorate his victories in Morocco. A few other works have been tentatively attributed to Gonçalves based on similarities of style; and others, such as the ''Flagellation of Christ'' have been referred to historically but are now lost. In addition to painting, he probably drew the scenes for the Pastrana Tapestries. There is no record of where Gonçalves trained as a painter but art historians offer various possible influences on his work. His style represents a break from earlier Portuguese art. He has been compared to early Florentine fresco painters or possibly the Dutch artist Jan van Eyck who worked in Portugal around 1428. He is depicted, among several other historic figures, on the

Padrão dos Descobrimentos ''Padrão dos Descobrimentos'' (; lit. ''Monument of the'' ''Discoveries'') is a monument on the northern bank of the Tagus river estuary, in the civil parish of Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon. Located along the river where ships departed to explo ...

, a monument to the Portuguese

Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafarin ...

in Belém, Lisbon. Lagos40 kopie

Saint Vincent Panels

The only reference that art historians can use to support his authorship of the Saint Vincent Panels is by

, in the 16th century.Francisco de Holanda, ''Da pintura antiga'' (Lisbon, 1548). It mentions a great work of art made by him that is inferred to be the Panels. It is also speculated that the father of

Hugo van der Goes Hugo van der Goes (c. 1430/1440 – 1482) was one of the most significant and original Early Netherlandish painting, Flemish painters of the late 15th century. Van der Goes was an important painter of altarpieces as well as portraits. He introduce ...

collaborated in the painting of the panel but there is no concrete proof. Since their discovery in late 19th century there has been great dispute over the identity of the painter and the characters shown in the Panels. Even the claim that Prince Henry the Navigator appears in the third panel is still under debate. Nevertheless, the "Saint Vincent Panels" is seen as the highest peak of Portuguese antique art.

List of Works

These paintings are the most usually attributed to the painter: *''

'', c. 1470–1480, National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon *''

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

'', National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon *'' São Francisco'', National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon *'' Saint Vincent Tied to a Column'', National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon *''São Teotónio'', National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon *''São Pedro'', National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon

Notes

References

English * * * * Portuguese *Figueiredo, José de, "O Pintor Nuno Gonçalves", Lisbon, J. Figueiredo, 1910, volume 1. *Pereira, Paulo, "História da Arte Portuguesa", Lisbon, Editorial Estampa / Círculo de Leitores, 1996, volume 1.

External links