View of the portal
by FERNANDES, Mateus, Photo
Work on the royal monastery of Batalha was proceeding at the beginning of the 16th century. Mateus Fernandes (d. 1515) had run an efficient workshop since the turn of the 16th century, and it was he who was entrusted with the continuation of work on the Capelas Imperfeitas, the pantheon of Duarte I, left unfinished by Huguet. By 1509 the main doorway was complete. It is probably the richest and finest masonry work of the time. The Late Gothic splayed doorway is capped by several layers of intersecting arches while all the architectural features are covered with Flamboyant decoration.
In 1516 work on the chapel was largely abandoned and the chapel remained unfinished.
The picture shows the main portal of the Capelas Imperfeitas in the monastery of Batalha.