Bidspirit auction | Catherine Rachel Mendes da Costa

Catherine Rachel Mendes da Costa (1678-1756), London – Miniature Portrait of Her Children – Watercolor on Bone - Miniature portrait by the first female Anglo-Jewish painter Catherine Mendes da Costa. Signed, dated 21 January 1718. Watercolor on bone. A portrait of two children of the noted English Jewish painter Catherine da Costa, Sarah and Abraham da Costa. The children are standing next to each other in a spacious hall, in elaborate dress characteristic of 18th-century nobility. The young Abraham holds a songbird in his right hand, while Sarah holds a small bouquet. A garden is seen in the background outside the door, while to the right a table of ripe fruits is depicted within. A paper leaf (contemporaneous) mounted to verso contains a handwritten description of the painting: ”Sarah da Costa aged 14 yeers [!] & 6 months / Abraham da Costa aged 7 years and 4 months”. Catherine Rachel Mendes da Costa (1678-1756) was born in London to Fernando Mendes, physician of King Charles II of England and his wife Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese princess. She married her cousin, Anglo-Jewish banker Moses (Anthony) da Costa. Famous as the first Jewish artist in England, she specialized in miniature portraits (limning). Da Costa studied art under the British artist Bernard Lens III (1682-1740), and she was a pioneer of the watercolor on bone technique. An imaginary portrait of Mary Queen of Scots she painted is held in the British National Trust, and exhibited in Ham House, Surrey (NT 1140204). Other miniature portraits she painted, including a portrait of her son Abraham, are held in the Jewish Museum in London (JM 858; JM 902) and the Jewish Museum in Amsterdam (M0034477; M003859); several miniature portraits she produced have been sold at auction, including by Sotheby's, Christie's and Philip Mould; for a portrait resembling the present item, also apparently depicting two of Da Costa's children, see: Sotheby's, New York, 16 March 1999, Lot 171. 12X14.2 cm. Frame: 25X21.5 cm. Overall good condition. Provenance: Collection of Mozes Heiman Gans.