Columbus a blonde? Or red haired with freckles?

How is this related to Winchester VA? Columbus has a presence everywhere in this country, including Winchester VA. There is the Knights of Columbus Council 3572, at 519 S Cameron St, Winchester, VA 22601.

They have a

Knights of Columbus Soup Kitchen - Food Distribution Center.

And now a Picture:

Upon his arrival in the Colony of Santo Domingo on Hispaniola, the 2nd Governor in this new world in August 1500, de Bobadilla, upheld accusations of mismanagement made against Columbus, and had Columbus sent back to Spain in chains.

In chains.

Thomas Jefferson later used these chains to point out the tyranny of royalty.

He had been searching for a non-British symbol for America.

Columbia was to supplant Britannia.

Thomas Jefferson hunts for a picture

So, Thomas Jefferson's commenced his search for the likeness of Columbus:

https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-07-02-0444-0001

Here is an excellent timetable of Jefferson's efforts to find a likeness of Columbus:

https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/christopher-columbus-painting/

In 1893, a newspaper reporter and historian William Eleroy Curtis tracks down all the descriptions of Columbus and all the portraits of Columbus. This historian is interesting himself. Reputed to have found gold in the Black Hills while embedded with the Custer Expedition in 1874 there. He was also captured by the Jesse James - Younger Gang. He wrote about that. His book from page 8 on lists all the portraits of Columbus.

That's it.

That's our lead story.

Compiled by Jim Moyer 9/1/2017, 9/16/2019, 10/12/2019, , updated 10/9/23, update 10/10/2023, 10/11/23, 10/14/2024, 10/15/2024

Blonde?

Columbus' 2nd son, Ferdinand (Fernando Colon), described his Dad as blonde and of blue eyes, according to one man's interpretation of his words.

Scientific American posted this story OCTOBER 14, 2013:

"The article, in our July 15, 1893 issue, notes that only a few portraits of Columbus fitted descriptions given by the explorer’s contemporaries and by his son Fernando. Those accounts indicated that he was “was a vigorous man, of tall stature, with blond beard and hair, clear complexion and blue eyes,”

The painting, the story explains, was discovered by a Neopolitan antiquarian identified as a Mr. Cannavina, who uncovered the image of Columbus under glue that had been applied in the 1790s by a family in Bologna

The following quotes are from this source:

In 1893, historian William Eleroy Curtis quotes several contemporaries of Christopher Columbus but does NOT footnote his sources His book from page 8 on lists all the portraits of Columbus. William Eleroy Curtis mentions who he thinks the painter and why. This historian and newspaper reporter has quite a colorful history himself.

Light color Hair, eyes light colored?

His son , Fernando , says :"The admiral was a well-made man, of a height above the medium, with a long face, and cheek-bones somewhat prominent; neither too fat nor too lean. He had an aquiline nose, light-colored eyes, and a ruddy complexion. In his youth he had been fair, and his hair was of a light color, but after he was thirty years old it tuned white. In eating and drinking he was an example of sobriety, as well as simple and modest about his person."

See Source and see page 7 of Christopher Columbus: His Portraits and His Monuments :by William Eleroy Curtis

Red hair? Aquiline Nose? Freckles?

Gonzales Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdez witnessed the triumph of the Discoverer at Barcelona , was present at several of his recepțions , and at his interviews with the queen . " Columbus , " he writes , was a man of honest parentage and sober life . He had a noble bearing , good looks , and a height above the medium , which was well carried . He had sharp eyes , and the other parts of his visage were well proportioned . His hair was a bright red , his complexion flushed and marked with freckles . His language was easy , prudent , showing a great genius , and he was gracious in manner ."

Andres Bernaldez , who was known as " the good curate of Los Palacios , " and at whose house at Grenada Columbus made his home for months at a time , wrote the " Historia de los Reyes Catholicos , " and gave a description of the person of the Admiral . ' Columbus , " he said , " was a man of fine stature , strong of limb , with an elongated visage , fresh and ruddy of complexion , marked with freckles . He had a noble bearing ,was dignified of speech , and bore a kindly manner . "

Peter Martyr , or Petrus Martyris Anglerius , afterward secretary to Charles V. , described the Admiral in similar terms .

Fray Bartholome de Las Casas was also an intimate friend of Columbus . From him , also , we know that Columbus had red hair and freckles , keen gray eyes and aquiline nose , a large mouth and a sad ex- pression of countenance , which was the result of much mental suffering . From him we know , too , that he was unusually reticent , but spoke with great fervor and fluency when so inclined . He describes him , too , as a lover of justice , but quick in anger when there was reason for it .

See Source and see page 7 of Christopher Columbus: His Portraits and His Monuments :by William Eleroy Curtis

About the Painting

Scientific American posted this story OCTOBER 14, 2013:

"The article, in our July 15, 1893 issue, notes that only a few portraits of Columbus fitted descriptions given by the explorer’s contemporaries and by his son Fernando. Those accounts indicated that he was “was a vigorous man, of tall stature, with blond beard and hair, clear complexion and blue eyes,” just as the man in the painting was depicted (although you can't that from the black and white image shown here).

The painting, the story explains, was discovered by a Neopolitan antiquarian identified as a Mr. Cannavina, who uncovered the image of Columbus under glue that had been applied in the 1790s by a family in Bologna to mask the art from feared French invaders. Various signs—among them, a blond beard, a table covered with copper nautical instruments, a fragment of an inscription that could have included Columbus’s name, and a small Havana spaniel at the subject’s feet—induced Cannavina to seek the opinion of “a certain number of erudite Neapolitans” as well as of an art critic named Alexander d’Agiout. These authorities concluded that the painting was indeed of the great explorer. They were convinced in part by evidence that the instruments on the table were ones that Ferdinand of Castille had given to Columbus and by the presence of a dog from the Americas, which seemed “to have been put there as a true certificate of origin.”

As for the artist being Titian, the piece says, “It is only necessary to inspect it to think of attributing it to Titian. None of those who have seen it has hesitated upon this point.” The experts determined that the portrait was made “in the first years of the sixteenth century, either from nature or from a sketch of the time,” although the painter made the explorer look younger than he would have been at the time. “It seems to us,” the story concludes, “that this portrait really represents Columbus.”

But does it, and was it painted by Titian? I suspect the answer to both questions is no, because I can’t find any mention or copies of the image anywhere. Perhaps someone out there can enlighten us?"