Diego Duarte or Jacob Duarte (1612–1691) was a 17th-century Portuguese jeweler, banker, composer, organist and art collector living in Antwerp, who owned paintings by
Jan Vermeer,
Raphael and others.
Duarte was born in Antwerp, the son of
Gaspar Duarte I, a Christian diamond and art dealer of Jewish descent in Antwerp, whose circle of friends included
Constantijn Huygens. Gaspar was the son of Diego Duarte I, and was born in 1584 in Antwerp. He later became the
consul of Portugal in Antwerp. In 1635, Diego was appointed "jeweller in ordinary" by
Charles I of England, but he returned to Antwerp in 1642.[1] He received a part of the art collection of his father on his death in 1653, and continued collecting throughout his life. Part of his collection was sold in Amsterdam in 1682. Diego had a long correspondence and friendship with
Constantijn Huygens Jr. The house of the Duarte family in Antwerp was called the Antwerp
Parnassus, a meeting place for intellectuals to enjoy art and music.
William III of England repeatedly stayed at the house between 1674 and 1678. Diego's brother
Gaspar Duarte II was an art collector as well, and his sister
Leonora was a composer. After the childless death of Diego Duarte in 1691, no Duartes remained in Antwerp.
Some 200 paintings of Diego's collection were inherited by his nephew Manuel Levy Duarte. Most were sold between 1693 and 1696.
Collection
This incomplete list is based on the inventory of 1682, and uses the attributions given therein for what they're worth.
Raphael: Holy Family with Anne (this was judged to be the most valuable painting in the 1682 inventory of Duarte's collection), Sacrifice of Elijah and Vision of Ezekiel
Johannes Gouw, Catalogus der Schilderijen van Diego Duarte, te Amsterdam in 1682, in De Oude Tijd Vol. 2, 1870
[1]
H. G. Dogaer, De inventaris der schilderijen van Diego Duarte, in Jaarboek van het Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen pages 195–221, 1971
Edgar R. Samuel, The disposal of Diego Duarte's Stock of Paintings, in Jaarboek van het Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen pages 305–324, 1976
Timothy de Paepe, Diego Duarte ii (1612–1691): a converso’s experience in seventeenth-century Antwerp, in Jewish History Volume 24 (2010), Number 2, pages 169-193
[2]