Portrait of Abraham Furtado. Unknown artist. [Presumably France, first half of the 19th century]. Oil on canvas. Unsigned.

An early, high-quality oil painting depicting Abraham Furtado – a French-Jewish statesman and politician, banker, and businessman.

Abraham Furtado (1756-1817) was born in London to a Portuguese Converso family from Lisbon; he was raised and educated in Bayonne and settled in Bordeaux after his marriage. Furtado, one of the notables of the Jewish community, held senior positions in the Bordeaux municipality and represented French Jewry to the authorities: In 1788, he was among the delegates of Bordeaux Jewry to the Malesherbes Commission, which examined the status of Jews in France; in 1806-1807 he served as a deputy in the "Grand Sanhedrin" convened by Napoleon Bonaparte; in 1815 he was appointed by King Louis XVIII as treasurer of the city of Bordeaux, a position he held until his sudden death in 1817.

Furtado's portrait was printed and circulated in various formats from the first quarter of the 19th century, and an oil painting very similar to the present one (and of almost identical dimensions) is in the collection of the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme in Paris (MahJ, Inv. 90.07.001).

Painting: 32.2X24 cm. Stretched on an original wooden frame and placed in a contemporary gilt wooden frame. Frame: 41X49.7 cm. Fair-good condition. Paint flaking, cracks and blemishes, some repaired with old paint retouches. Ten small, old fabric strips glued to the back of the canvas for reinforcement and support.