Cristóvão Lopes () was a Portuguese painter. Cristóvão Lopes was the son and disciple of royal painter

Gregório Lopes Gregório Lopes (''c.'' 1490 – 1550) was one of the most important Renaissance painters from Portugal. Biography Gregório Lopes was educated in the workshop of Jorge Afonso, the court painter of King Manuel I. Later he himself became c ...

, who died in 1550. Cristóvão succeeded his father as the royal painter of King John III in 1551. Since no works are known by him before the death of his father, it is assumed that up to this time Cristóvão worked in his father's workshop. Few paintings are certainly by his hand, since he did not sign his works. Cristóvão Lopes' painting style suggest that he may have worked with Dutch portrait painter

Antonis Mor Anthonis Mor, also known as Anthonis Mor van Dashorst and Antonio Moro (c. 1517 – 1577), was a Netherlandish Portrait painting, portrait painter, much in demand by the courts of Europe. He has also been referred to as Antoon, Anthonius, Anthoni ...

(also known as Antonio Moro) who had come to Portugal in the 1550s to paint the royal family. Cristóvão Lopes is the painter of an

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

for the Convent of Madre de Deus in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, in the high choir of the church, which carry portraits of the royal couple, John III and his wife Catherine of Austria (or Habsburg). Other royal portraits attributed to him are now on display in the

National Museum of Ancient Art The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (; MNAA), also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is a Portugal, Portuguese national art museum located in Lisbon. With over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, gol ...

, in Lisbon. He is also the painter of an

allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...

of ''

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

'' for the Misericórdia Church in

Sesimbra Sesimbra () is a municipality of Portugal, in the Setúbal District, lying at the foothills of the ''Serra da Arrábida'', a mountain range between Setúbal and Sesimbra. Due to its particular position at the Península de Setúbal, Setúbal Bay, ...

Anthology of major works

Since Lopes did not sign his works, many of these paintings are only attributed to him (or to his workshop). Many were copies of the works of others, such as of

. *''Portrait Queen Catherine of Austria, wife of King John III of Portugal'' (c. 1550-1560; attributed) - Oil on wood, 65.0 x 50.5 cm, Museu de S. Roque, Lisbon, inv. 50; see image gallery below. *''Portrait King

John III of Portugal John III ( ; 6 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious ( Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarve from 1521 until he died in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of ...

'' (c. 1550-1560; attributed) - Oil on wood, 65.0 x 50.5 cm, Museu de S. Roque, Lisbon, inv. 51; see image gallery below. *''Portrait Queen Catherine of Austria with St. Catherine'' (c. 1552-1571; attributed) - Oil on wood, 198.2 x 150 cm, Convent of Madre de Deus, Lisbon, inv. PINT 1; see image gallery below. *''Portrait King

with

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

'' (c. 1552-1571; attributed) - Oil on wood, 199 x 147.3 cm, Convent of Madre de Deus, Lisbon, inv. PINT 2;see image gallery below. *''Portrait Queen Catherine of Austria with St. Catherine'' (c. 1552-1571; workshop attribution) - Oil on wood, 177.5 x 84 cm, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, inv. 968; provenance: Convent of Nossa Senhora da Esperança, Lisbon; see image gallery below. *''Portrait King

with

''Jordan, pp. 148, 160. (c. 1552-1571; workshop attribution) - Oil on wood, 177 x 91.5 cm, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, inv. 967; provenance: Convent of Nossa Senhora da Esperança, Lisbon; see image gallery below. *''Allegory of Mercy'', Igreja da Misericórdia, Sesimbra.

Gallery

Image:D. João III - Cristóvão Lopes (attrib).png, King John III of Portugal Image:Lopes Catherines Madre de Deus.jpg, Queen Catherine and St. Catherine (Convento da Madre de Deus) Image:Lopes John Madre de Deus.jpg, King John III and St. John the Baptist (Convento da Madre de Deus) Image:CristLopes2.jpg, Queen Catherine and St. Catherine (Nossa Senhora da Esperança) Image:CristovaoLopes-JoaoIII-portrait.jpg, King John III and St. John the Baptist (Nossa Senhora da Esperança)

References

External links

Paintings by Cristóvão Lopes (Six Centuries of Portuguese Painting website).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopes, Cristovao Portuguese male painters 1594 deaths 1510s births 16th-century Portuguese people Portuguese Renaissance painters 16th-century Portuguese painters Painters at the Portuguese royal court