Joseph Carreras
Not on view
Based on a Kneller portrait of 1686, this mezzotint portrays a Spanish poet and cleric who served as chaplain to Catherine of Braganza, the dowager queen of Charles II. The related painting hung in the Common Parlour at Houghton, was bought by Catherine the Great in 1779 and sold in 1854 by Tsar Nicholas I. Lady Sybil Cholmondely reaquired it for Houghton in 1975, the only work from the 1779 group that the family have managed to reaquire.
After her husband's death in 1685, Catherine remained in Englahd through the reign of James II, and even after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 placed William and Mary on the throne. She lived at Somerset House and pursued a protracted financial dispute with her former Lord Chamberlain, Herny Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon. As a devout Roman Catholic, Catherine's desire for a large household of co-believers resulted in growing friction and she returned to her native Portugal in 1692.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
