The Virgin of the Navigators

What it is

Painted by Alejo Fernández around 1531-1536 for the Casa de Contratación's chapel in the Alcázar of Seville, this altarpiece shows the Virgin Mary spreading her cloak over ships and people below. Kneeling figures include King Ferdinand II, Emperor Charles V, and men traditionally identified as Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and one of the Pinzón brothers. It is held at the Reales Alcázares in Seville.

Why it matters

The Casa de Contratación controlled Spain's trade and exploration to the Americas, so this painting expressed the official Spanish view that overseas conquest was a holy, Mary-blessed mission. Scholars note it may present Columbus and others as fulfilling biblical prophecy, and that the indigenous figures shown behind the Europeans may have been modeled on enslaved people in the painter's own workshop.

Look closer

• Who is placed closest to the Virgin, and who stands further back — what does that arrangement suggest about whose story the painting tells?
• Why might Spanish officials have wanted this image in a chapel used for trade business?
• What is left out of this religious image about the real experiences of the people being 'protected'?