Less elaborate than the pulpit and less pictorial than the altar-pieces in the cloister of Santa Cruz, this reredos is one of the most successful of all the French works at Coimbra, and its beauty is enhanced by the successful lighting through a large window cut on purpose at the side, and by the beautiful tiles--probably contemporary--with which the chapel is lined.
In front of the altar lies Dom Jorge d'Almeida, under a flat stone, bearing his arms, and this inscription in Latin, 'Here lies Jorge d'Almeida by the goodness of the divine power bishop and count. He lived eighty-five years, and died eight days before the Kalends of Sextillis A.D. 1543, having held both dignities sixty-two years.'
Very quickly the fame of these French workers spread across the country, and they or their pupils were employed to design tombs, altar-pieces, or chapels outside of Coimbra. Perhaps the da Silvas, lords of Vagos, were among the very first to employ them, and in their chapel of São Marcos, some eight or nine miles from Coimbra, more than one example of their handiwork may still be seen.
[Sidenote: Tomb in Nossa Senhora dos Olivaes, Thomar.]
However, before visiting São Marcos mention must be made of two tombs, one in Nossa Senhora dos Olivaes at Thomar, and one in the Graça church at Santarem. Both are exceedingly French in design, and both were erected not long after the coming of the foreigners.
The tomb in Thomar is the older. It is that of Diogo Pinheiro, the first bishop of Funchal--which he never visited--who died in 1525. No doubt the monument was put up soon after. It is placed rather high on the north wall of the chancel; at the very bottom is a moulding enriched with egg and tongue, separated by a plain frieze--crossed by a shield with the bishop's arms--from the plinth and from the pedestals of the side shafts and their supporting mouldings. On the plinth under a round arched recess stands a sarcophagus with a tablet in front bearing the date A.D. 1525, while behind in an elegant shell-topped niche is a figure kneeling on a beautiful corbel. The front of this arch is adorned with cherubs' heads, the jambs with arabesques, and heads look out of circles in the spandrils. At the sides are Corinthian pilasters, and in front of them beautiful candelabrum shafts. The cornice with a well-carved frieze is simple, and in the pediment are again carved Dom Diogo's arms, surmounted by his bishop's hat.