PD1188

Engraving of the 3rd Duke of Bragança, Dom Fernando
Author: Carolus Leoni
Origin: France
Dating: 1755
Material: Copper Sheet & Paper
Dimensions (cm): 35 x 61
Inv. no.: PD1188

Dom Fernando II (1430 – 1478)
According to Caetano de Sousa, the 3rd Duke of Braganza was the most powerful lord in Portugal, «having fifty Villas, Cities and Castles, with other strongholds, without counting the farms, estates, vineyards and fields, of which he was Lord».

He was the son of Fernando – the 2nd Duke of Bragança – and of Joana de Castro. To the dukedom of Braganza, he added the titles of Count of Guimarães – as a reward for his services at Ksar es-Seghir (Alcácer-Ceguer).

He was also the Fronteiro-mor of the provinces of Entre-Douro-e-Minho and Trás-os-Montes and, in 1464, received the patronage of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria da Oliveira. He succeeded his father as Duke in 1478, but his prestige was lost during the reign of King João II – as he was executed by treachery.

This engraving depicts him in half-figure, with armour and a helmet. At the bottom, the coat of arms of the House of Braganza surmounted by a helmet with a crown and a horse’s head.

In the past, engravings were inseparable from books. They were the only process that could be repeated in written works. It was one of the most effective global vessels for a visual knowledge of the world and of its protagonists. It was only with the development of photography that engravings began to be relegated to the realm of oblivion, but they continue to be an indispensable source of knowledge from the past.

Objeto museológico (PDB)