Jacob de Backer - The Nativity Christ Carrying the Cross - image-1 Jacob de Backer - The Nativity Christ Carrying the Cross - image-2

Lot 1427 D α

Jacob de Backer - The Nativity Christ Carrying the Cross

Auction 1057 - overview Cologne
14.11.2015, 11:00 - Old Master and 19th Century Paintings and Drawings
Estimate: 42.000 € - 45.000 €
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Jacob de Backer

The Nativity Christ Carrying the Cross

Oil on panel. 66 x 50 and 66 x 51 cm.

These two panels can be dated to around 1580, they display identical dimensions and correspond exactly and these factors, along with the similarity of their compositions, indicate that the two pieces belong together. They probably formed part of a documented series comprising at least five allegorical scenes from the life of Jesus (cf.: Müller Hofstede, op. cit., p. 254, note 1). The paintings were formerly in the possession of the Austrian Stadtholder of the Netherlands Archduke Ernst, who resided in Brussels from 1593 - 1595. All traces of the series were lost until these two panels were rediscovered in differing locations in 2007.

Certificate

Prof. Dr. Justus Müller Hofstede, Bonn 2007 (Nativity).

Provenance

Private ownership, Bergisches Land (Carrying the Cross). - The Dr. Bernhard Decker Collection, Frankfurt.

Literature

Justus Müller Hofstede: Jacques de Backer. Ein Vertreter der Florentinisch-Römischen Maniera in Antwerpen. In: Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch, vol. 35, 1973, p. 227-260.