Portrait of King John III
AUTHOR
Cristóvão Lopes (1516?-1594)
PLACE/DATE
Portugal, ca. 1550 - 1560
MATERIALS
Oil on wood
DIMENSIONS
65 x 50,5 cm
INV
PIN.51 e 50
This painting, together with that of Catherine of Austria (1507-1578), corresponds to the usual model of the royal couple originally defined by the portraits painted by the Flemish master António Moro (c. 1517-1577) who, in 1552, came to Portugal to create an official image of the Portuguese sovereigns, like prototype portraits from which replicas were made for political or diplomatic reasons.
The two portraits are an important testimony to the close links forged between the Portuguese royal family and the Society of Jesus. It fell to King John III (1502-1557) to order the delivery of the present site of São Roque to the Ignatian priests, to make it their base, taking advantage of a pre-existing shrine and then building a church and a professed house on it.