Jorge Afonso (''c.'' 1470 – 1540) was a noted Portuguese

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

painter. Jorge Afonso was nominated royal painter in 1508 by

King Manuel I Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate (), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manue ...

and again in 1529 by John III. He was mainly based in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, with a workshop near the Igreja de São Domingos. A whole generation of Portuguese painters was educated in his workshop, including Cristóvão de Figueiredo, Garcia Fernandes,

Gregório Lopes Gregório Lopes (''c.'' 1490 – 1550) was one of the most important Renaissance painters from Portugal. Biography Gregório Lopes was educated in the workshop of Jorge Afonso, the court painter of King Manuel I. Later he himself became c ...

and Jorge Leal, among others.Disney, p. 169. The main painted

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s attributed to Jorge Afonso were commissioned by the old Queen Leonor, widow of King John II and sister of Manuel I. For the former Queen, Jorge Afonso painted the main altarpiece of the Convent of Madre de Deus, in Lisbon, in 1515. This magnificent altarpiece is now in the

National Museum of Ancient Art The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (; MNAA), also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is a Portugal, Portuguese national art museum located in Lisbon. With over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, gol ...

, in Lisbon. Between 1520 and 1530, Jorge Afonso painted the 14 panels of the main altarpiece of the Monastery of Jesus, in

Setúbal Setúbal ( , , ; ), officially the City of Setúbal (), is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the entire municipality in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies withi ...

, again sponsored by Queen Leonor. The panels can be seen in the museum of the Monastery.''Terra Portuguesa'' Revista Ilustrada de Arqueologia Artística e Etnografia n.º 33-34, Maio de 1922, pág. 143

/ref> Jorge Afonso's workshop is also linked to the painted decoration of the walls of the Round Church of the Convent of Christ, in

Tomar Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a Portugal, Portuguese city and a municipality in the historical Ribatejo Portuguese Provinces of Portugal, province, and in Santarém District, Santarém district. The to ...

, executed in the 1530s.

Notes

Bibliography

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Portuguese Renaissance painting (by Maria José Palla , João Augusto Laurentino).

External links

Paintings by Jorge Afonso in ''Six Centuries of Portuguese Painting'' website.
1470s births 1540 deaths 15th-century Portuguese people Portuguese Renaissance painters 16th-century Portuguese painters 15th-century Portuguese painters Portuguese male painters {{Portugal-painter-stub