The republic., 1852-01-05
From The Nao York Eusning Post.
The Portrait of Columbus.

Columbus. MIR Boomhelds attention was di-
rected to the subject by his having been for some
years resident OF the south of Spain, and become
familiar with the portraits purporting to be the
likenesses Of the great discoverer.
Mr.. Irving has been applied to for leave to pub
lish his letters which embrace the result of his
researches on this subject, and contain many par
hculars Of much interest. At his request the
respondence has been returned to him, and in the
following letter he has recsst, with some additions,
the information and observations contained in his
more hasty notes to MIR. Bloomfield:
To WILLIAM &. Bryant, esq
My DEAR Sir: In consequence Of the interest
pressed by you TO a recent correspondence with
MIR. Joseph T.. Bloomfield, of Mexico, New York
ON some points relative to Columbus, have thrown
the purport OF my replies to that gentleman into
something OF connected form.
Mr. bloomfield was desiTous OF my opinion OF n
portrait OF Columbus existing 10 the Lon Royal
Exchange, at Seville, and which he says was the
only one acknowledged in Spain as a true likeness
lnreply, devastated that know of no portrait
tant which is positively known to be authentic.
The one in question, according to his account of it,
10 full length, and that of person from thirty to
thirty hve years OF age, armed in mail, and wear
ing full white ruff. Now, Columbus, by the time
his discoveries had made him subject for such
painting, was quite advanced In years. The ruf1
too, not article of dress in Spain until after
his death. 1t was Flemish fashion, brought, ]
believe, from Flanders to Spain in the time of
Charles ", who did not arrive in the Peninsula
until l5l6, ten years after the death OF Columbus
The portrait may have been one of Diego Colum-
bus, the heir and successor OF the discoverer, and
who. like him, was dcnomiDated "the Admiral"
Various portraits of Columbus have appeared
from time to time III Italy, not one resembling the
others, and all differing essentially from the de-
scription given by Fernando of his father. Theo-
doro de Bry, in his AsiERicA, published in the ak
tcenth century, gave an engraving OF one in his
possession, which he pretended had been stolen
r. - a.
in the Netherlands, where it fell into his hands
The same has been copied in an eulogium of Co
lumbus by the Marquis OF Durazzo, printed by Bo-
doni, and in life of the discoverer published in
Milan by the Chevaier Bossi. This pretended por-
trait also differs entirely from the graphic dcscrip-
lion given by Fernando Columbus OF his father;
according to this, his vsage was long, and neither
full nor meagre; the cheek bones rather high, his
nose aquiline, his eyes light grey, his complexion
iair and high .coored (accesO di coIOre) In his
youth his hair was blond; but by the time he
thirty years Of age it was quite ,oLte. This minute
description consider the touchsonc by which all
the pretended portraits of him should be tried 1t
agrees with accounts given of him by Las Casas
and other contemporaries.
Peschiera, u sculptor, employed in Genoa to
make bust of him for monument erected to his
memory in that city in 1921, discarded all exist
ing portraits either spurious or doubtful, and
guided himself by the descriptions have cited.
While ! was in Madrid, in 1926, Don Martin
Fernandez de Navarrete President of the Royal
Of an engraved portrait of Columbus, which he
found in old Italian work containing likcnesses
of distinguished persons. He and the Duke of
Feraguas (the descendant OF Coumbus) placed
confidence in it, because other portraits in the
work were known to be correct. doubted its au-
thenticity. Ii did not agree sufficiently Hith the
description before mentioned, and the hair espe-
caly, in the notice which accompanied it in the
Italian work, was said to be black. Still pub
lished q copy of the engraving ,Isome years since,
in an abridged edition Of my life Of the discoyerer.
While / was in Paris, in lS45, Mons. Jomard,
the learned principal of the Royal (now Nationally
Library, had the kindness to send Inc litho-
graphic copy of portrait in oil, recently disco
vered. The original bore, in one corner Of the can
vas, the inscription, CHRIsTOPoRus COLUMBUS.
The countenance was venerable and dignifed, and
greed, more than any had seen with the de-
scripton given by Fernando Columbus. Around
the neck, however, was the Flemish ruff, which
pointed out as an anachronsm. MIR. Jomard en-
deavored to account Tor II by supposing the por
trait to have been made up toward the year 1880,
by some scholar of Titan, from some design or
sketch taken during the lifetime of Columbus, and
that the artist may have dec ked out in the cos
tune in vogue at the time he painted it, This is
very possible. Such custom of vamping up new
portraits from old ones seems to have been adopted
in the time of Char les W when there painters
Of merit about the court.
In 1919 Juan de Borgona, Spanish artist, exc
cuted whole series of portraits of the prinates Of
Spain, for the chapter room OF the Cathedral OF To-
ledo; some of them from life, some from rude orig
lnals, and some purely lIDaglnary. some uegree
Of license Of the kind may have been INDUCED in
producing this alleged portrait Of Columbus. As
u is evidently work Of merit, and bears the stamp
OF his character. have published an engraving OF
il in one Of the editions OF his biography.
Painting had not attained much emnence in
Spain during the lifetime Of Columbus, though it
was improving under the auspices Of Ferdinand and
Isabella. There were as yet no Italian painters in
the peninsula and the only Spanish painter of note
was Antonio Rncon. who is said to have been the
fret who "eft the stiff Gothic style and attempted
to give to his figures something Of the graces and
proportions of nature" He executed portraits of
Ferdinand and Isabella, who made hlln their pain
.er-iu ordinary.
The originals have disappeared in the war Of the
French intrusion but copies Of two OF his full
length portraits of the sovcrcigns exist in one OF
the lower corridors of the royal gallery at Madrid.
Ii is very probable that he painted portrait OF Co
lumbus at the time when he wns at the court, the
object of universal attention on account Of his die
coycries; but, if so, it likewise has disappeared or
may exist anonymously in some corner OF Spain, or
in the collection Of some picture hunter.
SO much for tho portraits Of Columbus. Another
subject OF inquiry with Mr.. Bloomfield was the
name Of the discoycrer; he asks why we should
not call him 10y the name he signed TO all his let
ters now in the Royal Exchange OF Seville Chris
f0Uai Colon and he wishes to know chow did
could Colon be changed to Columbus"
ln regard To the namc there is some petty mys-
terry. That of the family in Genoa was Colombo,
and his original Italian designation Cristoforo
Colombo When he first came into Spain from
Portugal, he seems TO have retained his Italian fam
lily name, with slight variation; for in the records
of Francisco Gonzalez, Of Seville, the royal trea-
surcr, there still eItant three several entries of
money paid, in lfS7 and llSS, by order of the
Catholic sovcreigns, to him, by the name Of Cri'-
iobdi Colomo
So also, in royal ccdula of May II, 1850,
signed by the sovcreigns, the public functionarics
throughout the kingdom ordered to furnish ac-
commodation and facilities to Crstoval COiomo.
And the Duke of Medina Cell, his first patron in
Spain, in letter TO the Grand Cardinal dated 18th
March, 1893, says " do not know whether your
ordship knows that had for much time in my
house Cristoval Coi0uso who came from Poriu.
GAL" &c.
In the capitulations entered into between him
aud the sovercigns, 18th April, 1892, by which he
was constituted admiral, viccroy, and governor OF
any lands he might discover, we find him for the
first time recorded Don CrisSbsl Colon. In
adopting this appellation he may have rccurred to
what his son Fernando intimates was the original
patrican name of the family in old times, at
Rome CoionUs-and may have abbreviated II TO
Col.n, to adapt il ~ the Spanish tongue.
Columbus was later version of his family
name, adopted occasionally by himself and his
brother, Bartholomew, according TO the pedantc
usage Of the day IIs son, Fernando says (cbap.
xi.) that his father, before he declared admi-
raj, used TO sign himsclf "Columbus de Terra ru-
bra" that is 20 say, Columbus Of Terrarossa, n
han, ota .I.-