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Catherine Rachel da Costa (1679–1756), Mendes, was an English
Catherine Rachel Mendes was the eldest daughter of Fernando and Isabel Mendes,
File:Catharina da Costa - An allegory of summer, 1713.jpg, ''Allegory of summer'', 1713
File:Catharina da Costa - The Penitent Magdalene.jpg, ''The Penitent Magdalene'', 1714
File:Catharina da Costa - Portret van Alvaro Lopes Suasso (1696-1751).jpg, ''Portrait of Alvaro Lopes Suasso (1696-1751)'', 1718 (
miniaturist
A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...
. She grew up in London and studied painting under Bernard Lens III
Bernard Lens III (27 May 1682 – 24 December 1740) was an English artist known primarily for his portrait miniatures. Lens was the miniature painter at the courts of kings George I and George II, instructor in miniature painting (then called l ...
. Most of her surviving portraits are of family and friends, and there is also a picture of Mary Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...
. Da Costa was the first female Anglo-Jewish artist of note. In her personal life, she married Moses da Costa
Moses Mendes da Costa (died 1747), also called Anthony da Costa, was an English banker.
In 1727, Costa brought an action against the Russia Company, which refused to admit him to membership on the ground of his being a Jew. The attorney-general ...
and had six children.
Early life
Catherine Rachel Mendes was the eldest daughter of Fernando and Isabel Mendes, Portuguese Jews
Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the i ...
who had fled the Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...
and married in London. Her father was doctor to both King Charles II and Queen consort Catherine of Braganza
Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, ...
, having converted to Roman Catholicism. Catherine Mendes was baptized at Somerset House
Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...
(but given the Jewish name of Rachel) and Catherine of Braganza became her godmother.
The family lived between Budge Row in the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
and Highgate House (later known as Cromwell House
Cromwell House is a Grade I listed building built in 1638 in Highgate Village, now a suburb of London. It is currently owned by the Republic of Ghana and used as its visa section.
The builder of the house
Cromwell House was commissioned by Si ...
), sharing the houses with Fernando Mendes' cousin Alvaro da Costa and raising the children as Jews. On 13 August 1698, Catherine Mendes married da Costa's son Moses da Costa
Moses Mendes da Costa (died 1747), also called Anthony da Costa, was an English banker.
In 1727, Costa brought an action against the Russia Company, which refused to admit him to membership on the ground of his being a Jew. The attorney-general ...
in a synagogue. Moses da Costa was a wealthy merchant and together with him, Catherine da Costa had six children.
Career
Catherine da Costa was taught to paint miniature portraits byBernard Lens III
Bernard Lens III (27 May 1682 – 24 December 1740) was an English artist known primarily for his portrait miniatures. Lens was the miniature painter at the courts of kings George I and George II, instructor in miniature painting (then called l ...
and most of her surviving works are portraits of friends and family. These include a miniature of her ten year-old son Abraham da Costa which is now owned by the Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area.
List of Jewish museums
Notable Jewish museums include:
*Albania
** Solomon Museum, Berat
*Australia
** Jewish Muse ...
. However, a full-length watercolour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
portrait of her father hangs in the Bevis Marks Synagogue
Bevis Marks Synagogue, officially Qahal Kadosh Sha'ar ha-Shamayim ( he, קָהָל קָדוֹשׁ שַׁעַר הַשָׁמַיִם, "Holy Congregation Gate of Heaven"), is the oldest synagogue in the United Kingdom in continuous use. It is loc ...
and da Costa also painted the ''Imaginary Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587)'', which hangs at Ham House
Ham House is a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The original house was completed in 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan cou ...
in Surrey.
Da Costa was well-regarded as a painter and also impressed Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
with her wit when he visited London in the mid-1720s. He recorded an exchange between her and a priest in his notebooks:
Death and legacy
Catherina da Costa died on 11 December 1756 and was buried in the Mile End Jewish cemetery. Her son Abraham inherited her artworks and some are now owned by theJoods Historisch Museum
The (; en, Jewish Museum), part of the Jewish Cultural Quarter, is a museum in Amsterdam dedicated to Jewish history, culture and religion, in the Netherlands and worldwide. It is the only museum in the Netherlands dedicated to Jewish history. ...
in Amsterdam. She was the first female Anglo-Jewish artist of note.
A book called ''Smitten by Catherine'' was published in 2016 about her life and work.
Gallery
Joods Historisch Museum
The (; en, Jewish Museum), part of the Jewish Cultural Quarter, is a museum in Amsterdam dedicated to Jewish history, culture and religion, in the Netherlands and worldwide. It is the only museum in the Netherlands dedicated to Jewish history. ...
)
Notes
# "Madame Acosta dit en ma presence a un abbé qui vouloit la faire chrêtienne. Votre Dieu, est il né juif? Ouy. Est il mort juif? Ouy. Eh bien soyez donc juif".References
Further reading
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:da Costa, Catherine 1679 births 1756 deaths 17th-century English painters 18th-century English painters 18th-century English women artists Curiel family Da Costa family English people of Portuguese-Jewish descent English Sephardi Jews Painters from London People from the City of London Portrait miniaturists English women painters