Front:
UNITED STATES OF AMERIGA
CRICAGO
22
1992
C0601
6192
1992
FOUR DO
OSTAG
ISABELAA AI COLUM BUS
Back:
ISABELLA AND COLUMBUS
First Day of Issue: May 22, 1992
First Issue Location: Chicago, Illinois
The relationship between Queen Isabella of Spain and
Christopher Columbus of Italy, Portugal and points be-
tween, was a study in contrasts. Isabella — properly
Isabella the Catholic — was an heiress of Castile, born to
John II and all of the benefits of royalty. Columbus was
born in Genoa to an Italian weaver and would struggle
through his early years to make a name for himself. When
Isabella and Columbus finally met, the history of the
world changed forever. Thus, portraits of the two were
chosen for the $4 Isabella and Columbus commemora-
tive stamp, issued in 1893. The portrait of Isabella, titled
Isabelle of Castille, is an enigma, its location and artist
remain unknown. Some feel that it could have been
painted by Antonio Muñoz Degrain, but this has not been
confirmed. The Columbus portrait
, however, was painted
by Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556), an Italian artist and al-
though completed in 1512, six years after the death of
Columbus, many feel that it is the most authentic portrait
of the admiral.
No. 92-26
First Day of Issue Postcard Collection
©1992 Fleetwood, Cheyenne, WY 82008-0001
Original painting Christopher Columbus by I.A. Suschenko after Lorenzo Lotto.
Original painting Queen Isabella by I.A. Suschenko after engraving by Antonio Degrain.
Heetwood
