Portrait of Dr. Fernando Mendes
Catherine da Costa
1721
Image
Among Catherine da Costa’s surviving paintings is the full-length portrait of her father, Dr. Fernando Mendes (1647–1724). Mendes was a prominent Jewish physician, who attended both King Charles II and his wife, Catherine of Braganza. He and his family were Portuguese crypto-Jews. He was brought to England by Queen Catherine from Portugal when she married into the English royal family.
Credits
With permission of the Trustees of the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi Community of London, photo by Smilynne Joukovski.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
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