Columbus Before the Council of Salamanca (1487)
 
 
Columbus displays a chart in an unsuccessful endeavor to convince the Council appointed by King Ferdinand to support his theory of a new route to India. On either side of the panel are the statuettes of Juan Perez de Marchena (inscribed "Paraz"), prior of the Convent of La Rábida and friend of Columbus, and Henry VII of England, a patron of navigation, who agreed with Columbus's theory.