Nicolas Chantereine

He filled the splays on each side of the portal with statues, among them king Manuel I and his second wife Maria of Aragón, both kneeling in a niche under a lavishly decorated baldachin.

His reputation grew so fast that already in 1519 king Manuel I appointed him his personal sculptor (Imaginario de Pedraria) with the accompanying pension and privileges.

His first sculptural work were the tombs, at both sides of the main altar, of the first two Portuguese kings, Afonso I and his successor, Sancho I.

The kings lie on their tombs, clad in full armour, with hands joined in prayer and a lion or dog (symbol of fidelity) at their feet.

The tombs are set in large niches richly decorated with statues, flowers and medaillons in Late Gothic and Early Renaissance style, with on top the crosses of the Order of Christ.

The weathered statues of the Apostles and Doctors of the Church in the portal, made between 1522 and 1525, were carved by Nicolau Chanterene and Jean de Rouen.

He probably only sculpted the principal figures  : chief justice Aires Gomes da Silva and his wife Guiomar de Castro.

From 1533 he stayed at the court in Évora, entering in daily contact with noblemen, humanists, such as André de Resende, and the highest ecclesiastical ranks.

The design of the church of Nossa Senhora da Graça in Évora in 1542 is also ascribed to Nicholau Chanterene and Miguel Arruda.