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Secondary sourcePainting1791

Portrait of Vasco Núñez de Balboa

1791

A later engraved portrait of Balboa in armor, made long after his death for a Spanish book of illustrious portraits in 1791.

A later imagined portrait of Balboa made for a Spanish collection of portraits of illustrious historical figures.

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Black and white engraved portrait of a bearded man in armor with a plumed helmet, facing left, within an ornate border. Caption below reads Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Descubridor del Mar del Sur, Nacido en Jerez de Extremadura en el año de 1475, y fue muerto en Acla en 1517.
Portrait of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, in Retratos de los Españoles Ilustres, 1791. Library of Congress.

About this source

What it is

This engraving shows Vasco Núñez de Balboa in profile, in armor with a plumed helmet, and was made in 1791 for a book called Retratos de los Españoles Ilustres, which collected images of notable Spaniards with short biographies. It is held by the Library of Congress.

Why it matters

Because it was made more than two and a half centuries after Balboa's death, it cannot be based on a real likeness, but shows how later generations imagined and honored the explorer. The caption identifies him as the discoverer of the South Sea, born in Jerez de Extremadura, and notes he was killed at Acla.

  • Since no portrait from Balboa's own lifetime exists, what might this image be based on?
  • What does the armor and plumed helmet suggest about how the artist wanted viewers to see Balboa?
  • Why do you think this book of 'illustrious Spaniards' included him?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Vasco Nunez de Balboa on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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