Portrait of Court Jew with Ring

The identity of the sitter for Portrait of Court Jew with Ring is unknown. It is possible that the man in the picture is Jost Liebmann (also known as Juda Berlin), a Court Jew and jeweler in Berlin. But Liebmann died in January 1702, several months before the artist, Anton Schoonjans, arrived at the palace in Charlottenburg. Another theory is that the subject of the portrait is another Court Jew, Behrend Lehmann, but Lehmann was known as a pious Jew and the man pictured here is clean shaven. Some have suggested that the man was simply an unidentified Jew with “exotic” features that interested the artist. Court Jews were Jews who lent money or provided other goods or services to European royalty in exchange for special privileges.