A Colecção de Retratos de Diogo Barbosa Machado

Abstract

The present article aims to offer an initial insight of the print collecting activity of Diogo Barbosa Machado, author of Biblioteca Lusitana, a work of reference in Portuguese bio-bibliography. The article analyses an important section of his set of iconographic gatherings – the Colecção de Retratos (Portrait Collection), and presents a critical review of former evaluations, advancing a new interpretation on the methods and models adopted in the process of organizing the collection, which was done in accordance with collecting procedures in those days. Historian or Connoisseur? The article ends by attempting to define the collector’s profile of Diogo Barbosa Machado, in the light of the dichotomy established at the time. This initial overview will also, hopefully, help pave the way for future works on the topic, such as a systematic study of the overall collection, which stands amongst the most important 18th century compilations ever assembled in Portugal.