The Life of Catherine da Costa
Catherine Rachel da Costa, born Mendes, was an English miniaturist. The daughter of Fernando and Isabel Mendes, she grew up in London. Her father, a physician to King Charles II and Queen Catherine of Braganza, had fled the Spanish Inquisition. While her father converted to Roman Catholicism, Catherine was raised as a Jew. She studied the art of painting miniature portraits under Bernard Lens III.
In 1698, she married Moses da Costa, a wealthy merchant, in a synagogue. Together they had six children. Da Costa was noted as the first female Anglo-Jewish artist of significance. Her wit was famously recorded by Voltaire during his visit to London in the mid-1720s.
Artistic Works and Legacy
The surviving works of Catherine da Costa primarily consist of portraits of her friends and family. Notable pieces include:
- A miniature portrait of her ten-year-old son, Abraham da Costa, held by the Jewish Museum.
- A full-length watercolour portrait of her father, located in the Bevis Marks Synagogue.
- An Imaginary Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, which hangs at Ham House in Surrey.
Following her death, her son Abraham inherited her artworks. Some of these pieces are now part of the collection at the Joods Historisch Museum in Amsterdam.
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