Portrait of R. Refael HaKohen Katz, Rabbi of the three communities of Ahu (Altona, Hamburg and Wandsbek). Aquatint, after an illustration by I. Nathan (pinxit). [Germany, 1798].
Portrait of R. Refael HaKohen of Hamburg, against a background of his library, next to his books Marpe Lashon and VeShav HaKohen. Captions in Hebrew and German.

R. Refael son of R. Yekutiel Ziskind HaKohen Katz of Hamburg (1722-1803), leading Torah scholar of the generation that included the Noda BiYehudah, the Shaagat Aryeh and the Vilna Gaon. He was a close disciple of his uncle, the Shaagat Aryeh, and a teacher of R. Chaim of Volozhin. Served as rabbi and yeshiva dean of Minsk and other Lithuanian cities, Posen, and later of the joint community of Altona-Hamburg-Wandsbek in Germany. He was an opponent of the Haskalah movement and Mendelssohn's Bible translation.

Approx. 20X24.5 cm; matted: approx. 69X57.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains and defects. Tears, repaired.