The Viceroys Gallery of Goa: Technical study of an Indo-Portuguese portrait collection

Abstract

abstract This paper discusses the results from the ongoing historical, artistic, and technical study, under the 2022 Old Goa Revelations project, of a collection of portraits depicting the Portuguese viceroys and governors painted in Goa between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. This vast collection was first commissioned in 1547, introducing the concept of portrait galleries to the region, just a few years before the tradition of miniatures in the Mughal Empire was started by Akbar (1556–1605). Historical documentation proves the artists were local painters who were also requested to decorate the churches and convents of the recently settled religious orders. Multidisciplinary research supported by multianalytical noninvasive techniques—technical photography, x-ray radiography (XRR), infrared reflectography (IRR), mobile Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), and large-area scanning macro-XRF—combined with laboratory techniques—scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (micro-FTIR)—enabled the assessment of technical and material specificities of the wooden supports, ground layers, and pictorial layers of these paintings, some of which are covered with multilayered restoration. These data provide new insights on Goan painting from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries—a time when materials, drawings, and artists circulated in this city and region—and on the specific local resources used to produce these objects. The study also reveals information about restoration practices from the nineteenth century. It is hoped that the results produced by this multidisciplinary team can contribute to further research on related topics.