Creation of the animals

Grão Vasco painted this Creation of the Animals around 1500 for the Lamego Cathedral altarpiece. The Genesis subject was unusual in Portuguese painting, suggesting a comprehensive Old Testament program. Grão Vasco's treatment of the diverse animal kingdom demonstrates his observational skills and inventive spirit. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique. Such devotional panels served both liturgical contexts in churches and chapels and private devotional use in the homes of wealthy families who maintained personal altars and oratories.

Oil on panel with detailed rendering of various animal species in a paradisiacal landscape. The creative imagination required for the subject is matched by careful naturalistic observation of individual creatures.