Statue of Magellan, Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Lisbon

What it is

This is a photograph of white stone relief figures on the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, the Monument to the Discoveries, in Lisbon, Portugal. The central figure is a bearded man with short hair. He holds a circular astrolabe-like instrument and wears a long tunic with a chain-like cord. Other carved figures stand behind and beside him. The photograph was taken on 6 December 2014 by Christopher Brown. The facts identify the carved figure as Magellan, but they do not give the date when the sculpture was made or its sculptor.

Why it matters

Monuments like this one were built long after the voyages they honour. They show how later Portuguese society chose to remember its explorers and which men it placed at the centre of its story. Magellan sailed for Spain, not Portugal, so a Portuguese monument commemorating him shows how his achievements have been claimed and reinterpreted over time.

Look closer

• Which objects does the sculptor give to the central figure, and what might they suggest about his role?
• Who is shown beside him, and why might the monument include several people?
• What might a monument to the discoveries leave out, such as the people who were already living in the lands the voyages reached?