Footnotes

• LITERATURE:
  E. de Heer and P. van den Brink, Jacob de Backer (1608/9-1651) (Amsterdam, 2008), ill. p. 171 (as whereabouts unknown)
  
  Peter van den Brink dates this portrait, whose whereabouts was hitherto unknown, to circa 1647 and states that it compares well with other male portraits of Backer from the last phase of his life, such as the Portrait of Abraham de Visscher and the Portrait of Machtelt Bas, both of which are in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam and date from 1651, and more famously his portrait of the Governors of the Niewwezijds Huiszittenhuis at Amsterdam, also in the Rijksmusem (op. cit., p. 171). These portraits are similarly characterised by an objective rendering of the subject, concentrating on the accurate representation of his sitters.
  
  Jacob Backer, who had been a fellow pupil of Govaert Flinck in the studio of the history painter, Lambert Jacobsz., in Friesland, returned, with Flinck, to his native Amsterdam in 1633, where he remained for the rest of his life. Soon after his arrival in the city he received his first important commission for a group portrait of the Governors of the Civic Orphanage of Amsterdam (Amsterdams Historisch Museum), one of the most famous Amsterdam group portraits. While his fame has since been eclipsed by that of Rembrandt, he was much praised in his own lifetime and afterwards.

Auction Notices

• Please note that the cataloguing for the present lot should read: Jacob Adriaensz. Backer (Harlingen 1608-1651 Amsterdam) Portrait of a gentleman, three-quarter-length, in a black tunic with a lace collar signed with monogram 'JAB' (JA in ligature, upper left) oil on canvas 97 x 74.5cm (38 3/16 x 29 5/16in). PROVENANCE: Dr. Ernest Tross, Los Angeles Sale, Sotheby's Parke Bernet, Los Angeles, 28-29 June 1982, lot 14 Private Collection, California LITERATURE: E. de Heer and P. van den Brink, Jacob de Backer (1608/9-1651) (Amsterdam, 2008), p. 171, ill.(as whereabouts unknown), p. 246, no. A122, ill. We are grateful to Peter van den Brink for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.

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Category: Fine Art / Old Master Paintings

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