Gonçalves, Nuño

Portuguese painter; court painter, 1450–71.

The Altar of St. Vincent (National Museum of Ancient Art, Lisbon), the most significant monument of Portuguese 15th-century art and one of the most striking works of Western European painting of the period, was ascribed to Gonçalves in the early 20th century. In the six altar panels (over 2 m high and 5 m wide on the average) rows of acute portraits of representatives of the various ranks of Portuguese society, characterized by spiritual unity, are set next to scenes of the worship of St. Vincent (the patron saint of Portugal). The monumental character of the composition, the type of altar, and the manner of execution testify to the author’s acquaintance with the works of J. van Eyck.