Page 138 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

white robes, are from the monastery of San
Vicente da Fora (or, according to some scholars, of
Alcobac.a), which was closely associated with the
campaigns in Arzila. The kneeling figure is Nuno
Alvares de Aguiar, the prior from 1464 to 1490,
who accompanied Dom Afonso v's army during
the occupation of Tangiers. There, on 20 August
1471, he celebrated a thanksgiving mass in a large
mosque that had been transformed into a Christ-
ian chapel and was designated bishop of Tangiers.
The Panel of the Relic shows the fragment of a
skull, part of the remains of Saint Vincent,
preserved in the Cathedral of Lisbon. The coffin
shown in the upper part of the panel is thought to
be a reference to a knight, Dom Henry, a crusader
against the Moors who perished in the siege of
Lisbon in 1147. He miraculously appeared and
healed two of his friends, and his relics were ven-
erated by a growing number of pilgrims. Others
believe that the casket represents the one in which
the relics of Saint Vincent were transported, while
others think that it is meant to be the casket in
which the remains of Dom Fernando were found.
The figure holding the Hebrew Bible is Isaac
Abrabanel, whose significance is discussed below.
The Panel of the Archbishop (called by some
scholars the Panel of the Condestdveis to indicate
its relationship to the Panel of the Infante [also
known as the Panel of the King]), shows Saint
Vincent holding a staff, the symbol of military
action, flanked on the left by the kneeling figure
of Dom Fernando, brother of Dom Afonso v and
strategist of the expedition to Arzila, who died
days before the battle. On the right is the kneel-
ing figure of Dom Henrique de Menezes, first
count of Valency and the official bearer of the
royal flag, who took Dom Fernando's place. To the
rear is Dom Fernando de Menezes, who was
appointed governor of the conquered city of
Arzila because of his bravery. Dom Joao, the
twenty-three-year-old son of Dom Fernando, is
shown next to his father, in a visual parallel to the
representation of Dom Afonso v and his son Dom
Joao on the Panel of the Infante. The imposing
ecclesiastical figure who appears at the upper left
of this panel is Dom Jorge da Costa, archbishop of
Lisbon from 1464 to 1500. He is flanked by
canons of the cathedral and by the archdeacon,
who holds the bishop's crozier. It is Dom Jorge da
Costa, later to become Cardinal Alpedrinha, who
is generally credited with the program for the
polyptych (R. da Cunha 1642). At the upper right,
the figure with a book may be the chronicler
Gomes Eanes de Azurara.
The sailors and fishermen who appear in the
fifth panel are ordinary people who have become
actors in this drama. Their significance is his-
torical as well as religious; their brotherhood was
under the protection of the Holy Spirit, and they
played a key role in furnishing the transportation
that was essential to the Portuguese success at
Arzila. The Panel of the Noblemen is usually
thought of as homage to the noble house of Bra-

EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD 137