Catherine da Costa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Catherine da Costa
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Self-portrait attributed to Catherine da Costa
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| Born |
Catherine Rachel Mendes
1679 London, England
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| Died | 1756 (aged 76–77) London, England
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| Nationality | English |
| Other names | Catharina da Costa, Catherine Rachel da Costa |
| Occupation | Miniaturist |
Catherine Rachel da Costa (1679–1756), née Mendes, was a talented English artist. She was famous for painting tiny, detailed portraits called miniatures. Catherine learned her skills in London from a well-known painter named Bernard Lens III. Many of her surviving paintings show her family and friends. She even painted a picture of Mary Queen of Scots! Catherine da Costa was important because she was the first well-known female Jewish artist in England. She married Moses da Costa and they had six children together.
Early Life
Catherine Rachel Mendes was the oldest daughter of Fernando and Isabel Mendes. Her parents were Portuguese Jews who had left their home. They fled to London to escape difficult times, like the Spanish Inquisition. Her father, Fernando, was a doctor for both King Charles II and Queen Catherine of Braganza.
Catherine Mendes was baptized, which means she was welcomed into the Christian church. However, she was also given the Jewish name Rachel. Queen Catherine of Braganza became her godmother.
The family lived in two places: Budge Row in the City of London and Highgate House. They shared these homes with Fernando Mendes' cousin, Alvaro da Costa. Even though Catherine was baptized, the children were raised following Jewish traditions.
On August 13, 1698, Catherine Mendes married Moses da Costa in a synagogue. Moses was Alvaro da Costa's son and a very rich merchant. Catherine and Moses da Costa had six children together.
Her Art Career
Catherine da Costa learned to paint miniature portraits from Bernard Lens III. Most of the paintings we still have today are portraits of her friends and family. One example is a miniature of her son, Abraham da Costa, when he was ten years old. This painting is now kept at the Jewish Museum London.
She also painted a full-length watercolour portrait of her father. This painting hangs in the Bevis Marks Synagogue. Catherine da Costa also created an Imaginary Portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542–1587). This painting is displayed at Ham House in Surrey.
Catherine da Costa was highly respected as a painter. She also impressed the famous writer Voltaire with her cleverness. Voltaire visited London in the mid-1720s. He wrote down a conversation he heard between Catherine and a priest in his notebooks:
Madame Acosta [sic] said in my presence to a cleric hoping to convert her to Christianity:
- "Was your God born Jewish?"
- "Yes"
- "Did he die Jewish?"
- "Yes"
- "Well then, become Jewish"
—Voltaire
Later Life and Legacy
Catherine da Costa passed away on December 11, 1756. She was buried in the Mile End Jewish cemetery. Her son, Abraham, inherited her artworks. Some of her paintings are now owned by the Joods Historisch Museum in Amsterdam. Catherine da Costa is remembered as the first important female Jewish artist in England.
In 2016, a book called Smitten by Catherine was published. It tells the story of her life and her artwork.
Gallery
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Allegory of summer, 1713
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The Penitent Magdalene, 1714
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Portrait of Alvaro Lopes Suasso (1696-1751), 1718 (Joods Historisch Museum)
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