Beschreibung:

Portrait of Shmuel Oppenheimer. Lithograph by Joseph Kriehuber Printed by Johannes Höfelich, [Vienna], 1846. Under the portrait are a facsimile of his signature and a German text with a short biography. R. Shmuel (Samuel) Oppenheimer (1630-1703) was a Jewish banker, philanthropist, a court diplomat, close to Emperor Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the Emperor's finance minister and assisted him in his war against the Ottoman Empire during the Great Turkish War (1683-1699). Although the Jews were expelled from Vienna in 1670, Oppenheimer was the first Jew allowed to settle in the city with his "Gesinde”, a small community composed of a number of Jewish families. He took advantage of his ties with the Emperor's court to benefit his Jewish brethren. 28 X 45 cm. Fair condition. Many stains. Tears and breaks in several places.