COLUMBIAN HISTORICAL EXPOSITION AT MADRID. 219 



None of the portraits were collected or exhibited as works of art. 

 They were presented solely for their historical interest, and to furnish 

 a complete exhibit of the varied conceptions which artists in all coun 

 tries, for four hundred years, have had of the appearance of the genius 

 who discovered America. Nor were any of the portraits offered as 

 authentic. It was distinctly stated in the catalogue of the collection 

 that there was no evidence that the features of Columbus were ever 

 painted or engraved by anyone during his life, and that the date of 

 the earliest picture that pretended to represent him was six years later 

 than his death. The most reliable authorities (and the subject has 

 been under discussion for two centuries) agree in this opinion, and 

 although the whole world was carefully searched in making this col 

 lection, the investigation only confirmed the belief that all are apoc 

 ryphal. His portrait has been painted, like that of the Madonna and 

 those of the saints, by many famous artists, each dependent upon the 

 verbal descriptions given of the man by contemporaneous writers, and 

 each conveying to the canvas his own conception of what the great 

 seaman s face must have been ; but it may not be said that any of the 

 portraits are genuine, and it is believed that all of them are more or 

 less fanciful. 



Five contemporaneous writers, who knew him, sympathized with him, 

 and were intimately associated with his career, have left us descriptions 

 of his features and his person. 



His son, Fernando, says: 



The Admiral was a well-made man, of a height above the medium, with a long 

 face, and cheek bones somewhat prominent; neither too fat nor too lean. He had 

 an aquiline nose, light-colored eyes, and a ruddy complexion. In his youth he had 

 been fair, and his hair w;is of a light color, but after he was 30 years old it turned 

 white. In eating and drinking he was an example of sobriety, as well as simple and 

 modest about his person. 



Gonzales Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdez witnessed the triumph of 

 the discoverer at Barcelona, was present at several of his receptions, 

 and at his interviews with the Queen. u Columbus,&quot; he writes, &quot;was a 

 man of honest parentage and sober life. He had a noble bearing, good 

 looks, and a height above the medium, which was well carried. He 

 had sharp eyes, and the other parts of his visage were well propor 

 tioned. His hair was a bright red, his complexion flushed and marked 

 with freckles. His language was easy, prudent, showing a great genius, 

 and he was gracious in manner.&quot; 



Andres Bernaldez, who was known as &quot;the good curate of Los 

 Palacios,&quot; and at whose house at Grenada Columbus made his home 

 for months at a time, wrote the Historia de los Reyes Catolicos, and 

 gave a description of the person of the admiral. &quot;Columbus,&quot; he 

 said, u was a man of fine stature, strong of limb, Avith an elongated 

 visage, fresh and ruddy of complexion, marked with freckles. He had 

 a noble bearing, was dignified of speech, and bore a kindly manner.&quot; 



Peter Martyr, or Petrus Martyris Anglerius, afterward secretary to 

 Charles V, described the admiral in similar terms. 



