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Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) was an Italian explorer, navigator, and colonist who completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean under the auspices of the Catholic monarchs of Spain. His early life is somewhat obscure, but scholars generally agree that he was born in the Republic of Genoa and travelled widely at a young age, reaching northern Europe and west Africa. From 1492 he led the first European expeditions to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, leading to the systematic European colonization of the Americas. Widely venerated for centuries after his death, his legacy is now debated: public perceptions have changed as recent scholars have given attention to negative aspects of his life such as his role in the extinction of the Taíno people and his promotion of slavery.
This picture is a posthumous portrait of Columbus by Italian painter Sebastiano del Piombo, dated 1519, which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. There are no known authentic portraits of Columbus.Painting: Sebastiano del Piombo