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Secondary sourcePaintingcirca 1903

Vasco da Gama (photogravure)

G. Barrie · circa 1903

A black-and-white photogravure reproducing a painted portrait of Vasco da Gama, made around 1903 by G. Barrie after a portrait by P. Barretto.

Shows how Gama's likeness, taken from a painting, was reproduced and shared in a later printed form.

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Black-and-white reproduction of a painted portrait of a bearded man in a dark hat and dark cloak, with a striped doublet and a chain with a cross pendant. He holds a rolled scroll in one hand and rests his other hand on a plumed helmet on a draped table.
G. Barrie, after P. Barretto, Vasco da Gama, photogravure, circa 1903.

About this source

What it is

This is a black-and-white photogravure, a printed reproduction of a painted portrait. It shows a bearded man in a dark hat and cloak, wearing a striped doublet and a chain with a cross pendant. He holds a rolled scroll in one hand and rests his other hand on a plumed helmet on a draped table. The print is dated circa 1903 and was made by G. Barrie after a painting by P. Barretto. It is a later reproduction of that likeness, so it is one step removed from the original painting.

Why it matters

Printed reproductions like this one spread a portrait of Vasco da Gama to readers who could never see the original painting. The chain of makers, from Barretto's painting to Barrie's print, shows how images of explorers were copied and circulated in the early 1900s.

Look closer

  • Who is the artist credited, and who made the reproduction? How do the two roles differ?
  • What do the scroll and the plumed helmet suggest about the man's life or work?
  • What might a black-and-white reproduction lose compared with the painted colors of the original?

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

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Painting of an elderly bearded man with white beard and dark beret, wearing a dark robe with brown fur collar and a red cross pendant. He holds a pair of spectacles and a folded handwritten letter against a dark green background.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Vasco da Gama

Anonymous · c. 1525

Painted portrait of a bearded man in a black cloak and black hat, holding a staff in his left hand and a sword hilt at his waist. Behind him is a shield with red and white stripes and a Portuguese coat of arms. The gold-colored inscription at top reads Dovasço da Gama Visoreie Comde.Painting

Secondary source

Vasco da Gama, Livro de Lisuarte de Abreu

Livro de Lisuarte de Abreu (compiler unknown) · c. 1565

A black line-drawn autograph signature on white background, with a stylized flourish above and an underline stroke beneath, running across the image from left to right.Document

Secondary source

Signature of Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama

A tall tapering white stone pillar topped with a stone cross stands on a raised circular platform by the sea. Two people sit on a low wall at left, and others sit near the right side under a partly cloudy blue sky.Artifact

Primary source

Vasco da Gama Pillar

1498 or 1499

Hand-painted portolan-style world map on parchment showing the Atlantic, Africa, and parts of Asia and the Americas, with compass roses, rhumb lines, colored flags, and Latin and Portuguese place labels.Document

Primary source

Cantino Planisphere

Anonymous Portuguese cartographer · 1502

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