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Secondary sourcePainting

Printed Portrait of Christophorus Columbus

Johann Ammon

An engraved oval portrait of Columbus, printed by Johann Ammon, showing him wearing a flat-topped hat and striped robe.

This engraved portrait depicts Columbus in a dignified bust-length pose for a printed book.

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Engraved oval portrait of Christopher Columbus, bust-length, wearing a flat-topped hat and a striped robe, inside a border with Latin inscriptions. Printed on a book page with a page number 167, above a Latin verse caption; a library gray scale strip is at right.
Johann Ammon (printer), Portrait of Christophorus Columbus. Herzog August Library, Germany.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraved oval portrait bust of Christopher Columbus, printed by Johann Ammon, showing him wearing a flat-topped hat and a striped robe within a decorated border carrying Latin inscriptions. It appears on a page of a printed book, accompanied by a Latin verse caption. It is held by the Herzog August Library in Germany.

Why it matters

Because the exact date of this print is unclear, it is treated as a later, secondary image rather than a portrait made from life. It is part of a long tradition of printed portraits of Columbus produced to accompany texts about his life and voyages, helping to shape his image for readers across Europe.

Look closer

  • What does the formal, dignified style of this portrait suggest about how Columbus was remembered?
  • Since no one knows exactly what Columbus looked like, what might this portrait be based on?
  • Why do you think books about Columbus often included an imagined portrait like this one?

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

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