The Amsterdam Residence of Manuel (Isaac Nunes) de Belmonte

Romeyn de Hooghe

ca. 1700

Statesman, merchant, and communal leader Baron Manuel (Isaac Nunes) de Belmonte (d. 1704) was the Spanish agent general in the Netherlands from 1664 and resident (consul) of the King of Spain from 1674. He contributed significantly to improving the relations between Spain and the Netherlands and he was subsequently awarded the title of Baron of Belmonte by Carlos II of Spain. He was also named Count Palatine by German Emperor Leopold III. Manuel played an important role in Amsterdam’s Sephardic Jewish community. He served periodically as parnas, on the committee for redeeming captives, and represented the community vis-à-vis the Dutch government. A poet and patron of literature, Manuel founded the literary societies Academia de Los Sitibundos (1676) and Academia de los Floridos (1685), which met in his home. Manuel himself composed poems, including one in memory of Abraham Nunes Bernal, who was burned at the stake. Various poets, among them Daniel Levi (Miguel) de Barrios (1635–1701), dedicated poems to Manuel. Manuel moved into a mansion on Herengracht in 1700. He never married, and his title was inherited by his cousin.

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Credits

Huis van baron Manuel de Belmonte (Isaac Nunes) aan de Herengracht te Amsterdam, Romeyn de Hooghe, 1693–c. 1695. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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