Created in 1884, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga is the main painting museum in Portugal. It houses the most well-known collection from the 12C to the 19C, painting, sculpture, silver, gold and jewellery, decorative arts – Portuguese, European, African and Oriental, including the largest number of works classified as “national treasures”. Among them The Panels of Saint Vincent, by Nuno Goncalves, and the Belem Monstrance, commissioned by king Manuel I and made gold brought by Vasco da Gama on his second return from India. The exhibits are housed in a 17C palace that was built for the counts of Alvor. In 1910 a modern annexe, including the main façade was added. It “has the largest collection of paintings I Portugal and is particularly strong on early religious works by Portuguese artists. The majority of exhibits came from convents and monasteries following the suppression of religious orders in 1834. There are also extensive displays of sculpture, silverware, porcelain and applied arts giving an overview of Portuguese art from the Middles Ages to the 19C, Complemented by many fine European and Oriental pieces.” Eyewitness Travel Guide.

1. Museu Nacional de Arte
AntigaThe Portuguese National Gallery of Art, Lisbon
First created 20 Oct 2018. Version 1.1 - 9 Nov 2018. Daperro. London.
Panels of St Vincent (Detail). c1470. Nuno Goncalves.

2. Portugal is a small country, with a
population of about 10m, situated at
the edge of Europe, facing the Atlantic
Ocean on one side and surrounded by
Spain on the landward side.
Historical perspective
Its greatest achievement is the
discovery of the sea route to the orient
and established itself as the first global
empire in human history.
The person who planned, oversee and
financed this adventure is Prince Henry
the Navigator.
Huge wave from the Atlantic, Nazare. Photo by Rafael Merchante
The Monument to the Discoveries, with Prince
Henry leading.
Portuguese Paintings

3. There very few historically authentic portrait of
Prince Henry the Navigator. For this reason the
panel is a valuable historic document.
“One of the more controversial issues concerning
the panels is the depiction of Prince Henry the
Navigator. At first glance the man in black in the
third panel is quite compatible with the tradition
conception of Prince Henry’s likeness a man with
a light moustache” Wikipedia 23.10.18 Most accepted this was Henry
the Navigator on the third Panel
Others think this man in the
fifth panel is Prince Henry or
Duke of Braganca.
Panels of St Vincent

5. Panels of St Vincent
The description of the painting at
the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga.
Details the 4th panel.

6. Belem Monstrance 1506
This is probably the next important artefact, the
Belem Monstrance. It was made from gold bought
back by Vasco de Gama on his voyage to India.
Vasco de Gama route to India..

7. Discovery of India. Tapestry.
The Manuel I (reign 1495-1521) commissioned a series of tapestries on the discovery of India by Vasco
de Gama.

8. Discovery of India. Tapestry.
Vasco de Gama on the bottom right of picture. A flock of peacocks from India (?).

9. Discovery of India. Tapestry.
An unicorn being lower from the ship and camels waiting on the ship.

10. Jose Pinhao de Matos
The gallery also has two huge paintings on the maritime history of Portugal by Jose Pinao de Matos

11. Jose Pinhao de Matos
18C ship building in Lisbon, this site occupied the land next today’s Praca do Comercio. A fleet of Portuguese
warships were mooring here on the Rio Tejo.

12. Jose Pinhao de Matos
Praca do Comercio, Lisbon next to the shipyard. Several caravels were included in the painting. It was ship
the helped that the Portuguese used to explore the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean.

13. King Joao I of Portugal

15. Jorge Afonso

16. Francisco Henriques

17. Francisco Henriques
Many of the paintings at the gallery are displayed as a group. These are described as altarpieces. Many
of the older paintings were once belong to part of an altarpiece from old churches. Unlike the single
large painting altarpieces in other countries, Portuguese altarpieces were often made up a group of
smaller paintings, at least in early 16C.

18. Francisco Henriques
Francisco Henriques (died 1518) was a Flemish painter from Bruges, active in Portugal in the early 16C. The
Evora altarpiece is his second most important large polypytch from Church of St Francis in Evora.

19. Francisco Henriques

20. The altarpiece of St James, Master of Lourinha
St James is one of the Apostles and he is the patron saint of Spain. Sometimes he is portrayed as a knight, because he
miraculously appeared in a battle between the Christian and the Moors, the Battle of Clavijo on the 23 May 834. St
James is credited for driving the Moors off the Iberia peninsula. A military order, called the Order of Santiago was found
in Portugal and Spain, initial to protect the pilgrims, to defend Christendom and to drive the Muslim Moors from the
Iberian Peninsula.

21. The altarpiece of St James, Master of Lourinha

22. The Hell. Unknown Master

23. The Hell, Detail. Unknown Master

24. The Hell, Detail. Unknown Master

25. Unknown Master

26. Unknown Master

27. Domingos Antonio de Sequeira

28. Domingos Antonio de Sequeira

29. Wenceslau Cifka
One of the more interest object of the gallery is this porcelain violin.

30. Foreign PaintingsArnau and Ferrer Bassa
The gallery’s collection is divided into two
sections – the Portuguese paintings and the
foreign paintings. This is one of the oldest
from Catalonia.

31. Master of San Martino a Mensola
An early Italian Renaissance painting.

32. Cesare da Sesto. Italian

33. Hans Holbein, the Elder. German.
This is the father of the more famous son
Hans Holbein, the Younger. The gallery has
works by several Renaissance German
artists like Lucas Cranach the Elder and
Albrecht Durer.

34. Hans Holbein, the Elder. German.

35. Lucas Cranach the Elder. German.
A very refine portrait. His art were used as
the symbol of the new Protestant faith, as
oppose to the art of Reformation.

36. Albrecht Durer. German.
Albrecht Durer was a very successful
painter, printmaker and theorist. His prints
were sold widely, helping to established his
reputation and influence across Europe.

37. Kano Naizen. Japanese
Kano Naizen (1570-1616) a Japanese painter of the well-known Kano school. Kano is his professional name
and his own name was Shigesato. He worked mostly with his father and brothers in the Kano workshop in
Kyoto, to restore many imperial buildings, temples and Shrines.

38. Hieronymus Bosch. Netherlandish

39. Hieronymus Bosch. Netherlandish

40. Jan Provoost. Flemish
One of many triptych painting in the gallery.

41. Joos de Momper. Flemish

42. Pieter Brueghel, the Younger. Flemish

43. Pieter Brueghel, the Younger. Flemish

44. Anthony van Dyck. Flemish
Anthony van Dyck was a student of Ruben
and well-known for his double portraits.
Like Diego Velazquez, he was pre-eminent
talent to work mainly as court portraitists.
He was the personal painter for Charles I of
England. Like his contemporary Frans Hals,
he was known for his working very fast on
his paintings.

45. Jaun Baulista Marinez del Mazo. Spanish
Juan Bautista Martinez del Mazo, a
follower and the son-In-law of Velazquez.
He did copies of Velazquez's royal portraits,
in particularly portrait of Infanta Margaret
Theresa. Nevertheless, Mazo also painted
true-to-life naturalism.

46. Francisco de Zurbaran. Spanish

47. Elisabeth Louise Vigee LeBrun. French
Vigee-Lebrun specialised in the attractive
and charming depiction of women and
children. She was particularly associated
with queen Marie-Antoinette.

48. Joshua Reynolds. English.

49. George Romney. English.
George Romney was a fashionable
and popular English portraitist. He
was known for his portrait of Lady
Hamilton.

50. John Hoppner. English.
John Hoppner, an English portraitist
was a follower of Reynolds and his
rival Lawrence.

51. All rights reserved. Rights belong to their respective owners.
Available free for non-commercial and personal use.
The
End
Music – Dvorak Humoresque Op 107, No. 7

52. European Art Galleries
London
Hague
Madrid
Madrid

53. With over a thousand of paintings in more than 10 countries.