Fortuna Histórica dos Retratos dos Vice-Reis. Novos dados para a fortuna histórica dos «restauros» dos retratos dos Vice-Reis e Governadores de Goa

Abstract

This article aims to contribute with new data to the historical review of a 400-year-old art collection, specifically focusing on the various interventions it has undergone, which resulted in the addition of layers of overpainting to the original compositions. Our research methodology involved the use of documentary sources, correlating them with iconographic representations as well as scientific and technical data to gather information regarding dates, locations, participants, and other material evidence. Early on, it became apparent that direct sources were scarce and dispersed, necessitating consultation of the historical archives in Panjim, an activity undertaken in 2019 as part of a research grant from the Fundação Oriente. We discovered that the various interventions coincided with the reconstruction or repairs of the official residences – a connection that had been little explored until now, which justified updating and systematizing the historical fortune of this collection. The research was further consolidated through a multidisciplinary scientific study of the pictorial layers, conducted within the scope of the Old Goa Revelations project. 1 This project involved archival research on iconography and restoration reports, as well as the technical and scientific examination of three portraits in display in the National Museum of Ancient Art in Lisbon and eight exhibited at the Archaeological Survey of India Museum in Goa. Thus, a transdisciplinary approach was the starting point for a new chronological systematization, interpretation, and understanding of this shared heritage collection.