Fernão Vaz Dourado: The Master of Portuguese Nautical Cartography Fernão Vaz Dourado, a name largely absent from mainstream art history yet profoundly influential in the world of maritime cartography, was a Portuguese cartographer and painter active during the 16th century. Born around 1520 in Goa, India – a vibrant hub of trade and cultural exchange within the burgeoning Portuguese Empire – Dourado’s legacy lies not in grand canvases or courtly portraits, but in exquisitely detailed nautical charts that shaped European understanding of the East and profoundly impacted the development of map…