ART

Discovering Columbus: After hundreds of years of debate, a 15th-Century portrait has been discovered that may finally settle the question of what Christopher Columbus looked like. The 17-by-23-inch oil painting, attributed to Spanish artist Pedro Berruguete (1450-1504), shows Columbus to be less portly than often portrayed, with deep-set green eyes, red hair, pronounced cheekbones and a long, aquiline nose. There’s no proof Columbus sat for the portrait, but it is the only existing painting done while he was alive. The story of the work’s discovery is to be published in “Columbus ‘92,” the magazine for the Genoese celebrations of Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas.