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Secondary sourcePainting1655

Vasco da Gama portrait in Fanshaw's Lusiads

1655

An engraved portrait of Vasco da Gama printed in a 1655 London edition of Camões's epic about his voyage, translated by Richard Fanshaw.

Shows how Gama was pictured as a hero for an English readership in 1655, in a book about his voyage printed long after his death.

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Engraved portrait of a bearded man in plumed hat, ornate armor with a cross on the chest, cloak, and staff, standing full length. Labels read 'VASCO DE' and 'GAMA'; signed 'Gros fecit' at lower left.
Unknown author (signed Gros fecit), Vasco da Gama portrait, in Richard Fanshaw's translation of Luís de Camões, The Lusiads, London, 1655.

About this source

What it is

This is a portrait printed in a 1655 London edition of Luís de Camões's epic poem The Lusiads, translated by Richard Fanshaw and published by Humphrey Moseley. The plate shows a bearded man in a plumed hat and ornate armor with a cross on the chest, holding a staff and standing full length. The labels read 'VASCO DE' and 'GAMA', and the plate is signed 'Gros fecit' at lower left. The artist named in the record is unknown.

Why it matters

Camões wrote his poem about the Portuguese voyages to India, and Gama is its central hero. This likeness was made more than a century after Gama died in 1524, so it shows how English readers in the 1650s imagined the explorer. The portrait is not a record of his real appearance. It reveals what the publisher and readers wanted the Portuguese voyager to look like.

Look closer

  • What clothing and objects does the artist use to make Gama look like a hero, and why?
  • Why was a portrait of a Portuguese explorer included in an English book?
  • What might this image leave out about Gama's real life or the people he met on his voyages?

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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