Rare Jewish Mummification: The Extraordinary Journey of Royal Physician Elijah Montalto to a Jewish Burial
The extraordinary story of royal Jewish physician Elijah Montalto has resurfaced centuries later, revealing how his body was embalmed after his sudden death in 1616 so it could be transported from France to Amsterdam for a Jewish burial, a near-unprecedented event in Jewish history.
![Photo:The Detroit Institute of Arts, previously: [1]3. Google Art Project works from the Detroit Institute of Arts)](https://images.jfeed.com/2026/05/26/72b6e8c0-590e-11f1-a7e2-8131bd9e4548__h1078_w1400.webp)
A historical account published this week has revived the remarkable story of Dr. Elijah Montalto, the Jewish physician to the French royal court whose body was reportedly embalmed in 1616 so it could be transported for Jewish burial in Amsterdam, one of the rarest known cases of mummification in Jewish history.
According to the account, Montalto collapsed and died suddenly while traveling with the court of King Louis XIII and his mother, Queen Marie de' Medici, during a journey from Paris to Tours.
At the time, Jews had long been barred from living openly in France, and no Jewish cemeteries existed in the kingdom. The report says Marie de’ Medici ordered Montalto’s body embalmed and arranged for it to be transported under escort to Amsterdam so he could receive a Jewish burial.
Historians cited in the report describe the case as exceptionally unusual, noting that Jewish embalming practices are extremely rare and recalling biblical references such as the embalming of Joseph in Egypt before burial in the Land of Israel.
Montalto was buried in the historic Portuguese-Jewish cemetery of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, known as “Beit Chaim,” one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Europe. His tombstone highlights his role as physician and adviser to the French monarchy and references the embalming process used to preserve his body for transport.
The cemetery later became the subject of one of the most famous paintings in Dutch art history. Dutch painter Jacob van Ruisdael created his celebrated work “The Jewish Cemetery” decades after Montalto’s burial, placing the physician’s grave prominently in the composition.
Art historians have noted that the painting, which features storm clouds, broken trees and a beam of light illuminating the cemetery, is widely interpreted as a meditation on mortality, destruction and hope. Two versions of the painting survive today, one in Detroit and another in Dresden.
