It was unusual for Black people to have their portraits painted in the seventeenth century in Europe, and even more rare for them to be mentioned by name. The reverse of the painting bears the inscription ‘Don Michael de Castro’, identifying the sitter. In 1640, an international dispute arose in the former Kingdom of Kongo between the lord of the province of Soyo and the king of Kongo. Dom Miguel de Castro was an ambassador dispatched by the lord of Soyo on a diplomatic mission to secure the support of the Dutch Republic.
Consequently, he bestowed 200 enslaved people upon the governor of Dutch Brazil. During his subsequent journey to the Netherlands, the West India Company commissioned a portrait of Dom Miguel. It is noteworthy that he chose to be depicted in European clothing, comprising a richly patterned shirt, brown waistcoat, white lace collar as well as a hat made of beavers’ fur with a metal chain and a long red feather (50 Favorites in the SMK Collection).
