Encyclopedia
The Master of Lourinhã masterpieces are the best that Renaissance painting produced in Portugal during the governance of King D. Manuel I, in the Luso-Flemish period. The paintings were commissioned c. 1515 by Queen D. Maria, second wife of King D. Manuel I. Its underdrawing, the fineness of the landscapes and the transparency of chromatic material, reveal the talent of a great artist following Bruges and Antuerpian models.
- Luso-flemish painting
- pigments
- ground layers
- Master of Lourinhã
Brought to light by Luís Reis-Santos in 1937 while visiting the Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Lourinhã, the panels are due to an artist who has taken since then, the name of “Master of Lourinhã”, epithet that brings together a series of thirty royal paintings on the same luso-flemish manner.
The “Master of Lourinhã” hatching technique in miniaturist style may be correlated to Flemish illumination practices, such as in its aesthetic values, based on Flemish prints and illuminated books. Also the painting of miniature figures are the closest possible relationship between the artist’s painting technique and manuscript illumination.
The “Master of Lourinhã” rise of individual drawing is worthy of notice, highlighting an elaborate system of sketching.
Colouring materials used and its transformation by the artist allowed characterizing the workshop palette: lead white, malachite, vermilion, lead-tin yellow, ochre and azurite. The characterization of the palette and ground layers and the study of the overlapping of pigment layers unveil materials and techniques of the unknown luso-flemish “Master of Lourinhã”.
More information on this research at:
Antunes, V.; Serrão, V.; Valadas, S.; Candeias, A.; Mirão, J.; Cardoso, A.; Manso, M.; Carvalho, M.L. A Painter in the Shadow: Unveiling Conservation, Materials and Techniques of the Unknown Luso-Flemish Master of Lourinhã. Heritage 2019, 2, 2725-2744.
