Artist: Severino Baraldi Medium: Gouache on Board Date: 1978 This is the signed original signed Gouache painting by Severino Baraldi. The painting is signed in the centre near the lower edge, where Baraldi has made the signature look like it has been carved into the wood by one of the mariners. Vasco da Gama, c. 1460s - 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India (1497 -1499) was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and, in this way, the West and the Orient. Da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India was significant and opened the way for an age of global imperialism and for the Portuguese to establish a long-lasting colonial empire in Asia. Travelling the ocean route allowed the Portuguese to avoid sailing across the highly disputed Mediterranean and traversing the dangerous Arabian Peninsula. The sum of the distances covered in the outward and return voyages made this expedition the longest ocean voyage at that time. A dramatic scene with Da Gama and some of his sailors lashed to the ship to prevent them being swept overboard in the rough seas. Some were not so lucky. Published in the British comic Look and Learn issue 844, 18th March 1978 for an episode of 'Into the Unknown' Please note that any import duties or taxes are the responsibility of the winning bidder. If multiple pieces from The Vaults of The Book Palace are won in this auction by the same bidder, only one set of shipping charges will be applied.