Cristóvão Lopes was a Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 painter.

Cristóvão Lopes was the son and disciple of royal painter Gregório Lopes

Gregório Lopes

Gregório Lopes was one of the most important Renaissance painters from Portugal.Gregório Lopes was educated in the workshop of Jorge Afonso, the court painter of King Manuel I. Later he himself became court painter for both Manuel I and for his successor, John III...

, who died in 1550. Cristóvão succeeded his father as the royal painter of King John III

John III of Portugal

John III , nicknamed o Piedoso , was the fifteenth King of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile...

 in 1551. Since no works are known by him before the death of his father, it is assumed that up to this time Cristóvão worked in his father's workshop.

Few paintings are certainly by his hand, since he did not sign his works. Cristóvão Lopes' painting style suggest that he may have worked with Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 portrait painter Antonis Mor (also known as Antonio Moro) who had come to Portugal in the 1550s to paint the royal family.

Cristóvão Lopes is the painter of an altarpiece

Altarpiece

An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...

 for the Convent of Madre de Deus in Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, in the high choir of the church, which carry portraits of the royal couple, John III and his wife Catherine of Austria (or Habsburg). Other royal portraits attributed to him are now on display in the National Museum of Ancient Art

National Museum of Ancient Art

The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga , located in Lisbon, is an art museum in Portugal.The museum is known as MNAA , and is popularly known as the Museu das Janelas Verdes due to the color of its windows...

, in Lisbon. He is also the painter of an allegory

Allegory

Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...

 of Mercy

Mercy

Mercy is broad term that refers to benevolence, forgiveness and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social and legal contexts.The concept of a "Merciful God" appears in various religions from Christianity to...

for the Misericórdia Church in Sesimbra

Sesimbra

-References:Bibliography*The Rough Guide to Portugal; 11th edition, March 2005; ISBN 1-84353-438-X*Rentes de Carvalho, J. - Portugal, um guia para amigos ; De Arbeiderspers, 9th ed. August 1999; ISBN 90-295-3457-5Notes...

.

Anthology of major works

Since Lopes did not sign his works, many of these paintings are only attributed to him (or to his workshop). Many were copies of the works of others, such as of Antonis Mor.

• Portrait Queen Catherine of Austria, wife of King John III of Portugal (c. 1550-1560; attributed) - Oil on wood, 65.0 x 50.5 cm, Museu de S. Roque, Lisbon, inv. 50; see image gallery below.
• Portrait King John III of Portugal
  John III of Portugal
  John III , nicknamed o Piedoso , was the fifteenth King of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile...
  
  (c. 1550-1560; attributed) - Oil on wood, 65.0 x 50.5 cm, Museu de S. Roque, Lisbon, inv. 51; see image gallery below.
• Portrait Queen Catherine of Austria with St. Catherine
  Catherine of Alexandria
  Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
  
  (c. 1552-1571; attributed) - Oil on wood, 198.2 x 150 cm, Convent of Madre de Deus, Lisbon, inv. PINT 1; see image gallery below.
• Portrait King John III of Portugal
  John III of Portugal
  John III , nicknamed o Piedoso , was the fifteenth King of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile...
  
   with St. John the Baptist (c. 1552-1571; attributed) - Oil on wood, 199 x 147.3 cm, Convent of Madre de Deus, Lisbon, inv. PINT 2;see image gallery below.
• Portrait Queen Catherine of Austria with St. Catherine
  Catherine of Alexandria
  Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
  
  (c. 1552-1571; workshop attribution) - Oil on wood, 177.5 x 84 cm, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, inv. 968; provenance: Convent of Nossa Senhora da Esperança, Lisbon; see image gallery below.
• Portrait King John III of Portugal
  John III of Portugal
  John III , nicknamed o Piedoso , was the fifteenth King of Portugal and the Algarves. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile...
  
   with St. John the Baptist (c. 1552-1571; workshop attribution) - Oil on wood, 177 x 91.5 cm, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, inv. 967; provenance: Convent of Nossa Senhora da Esperança, Lisbon; see image gallery below.
• Allegory of Mercy, Igreja da Misericórdia, Sesimbra.

External links

• Paintings by Cristóvão Lopes (Six Centuries of Portuguese Painting website).