Jacob De Backer
Antwerp 1560 – circa 1590 /1591

Adoration of the Shepherds

oil on panel

26 1/2"×19 5/8" (67.2 cm×50 cm)

PROVENANCE:

NOTE: Although Jacob de Backer left us a substantial number of paintings and drawings, very little is known of his brief life and career. De Backer joined the workshop of Antonio van Palermo, who reportedly worked his pupil so hard that the strain eventually lead to his premature demise at the age of thirty. Despite this shortlived period of activity, De Backer must have produced many versions and copies of his Last Judgment that continue to appear on the market today.

In fact, many people know De Backer only from these Last Judgment scenes, but this would be a misunderstanding of the artist’s true nature. He painted many allegories that indicated he was a learned man with a humanistic education. The painting in question represents a more common subject, the Adoration of the Shepherds, but with its classical illusions, Latin text and the introduction of an Old Testament prophet in the foreground, it is hardly recognizable as a Nativity scene.

The Latin inscription is undoubtedly a reference to the writings of the Church father or prophet, represented here holding a blank slate. Roughly translated, the verse below says: “Say ye, God is made man for us. Jesus is born of an intact Virgin.” Thus far, the specific source for this phrase has alluded us, but it refers to the belief that Christ was born to a Virgin who herself came into the world through a virgin birth. The latter is customarily referred to as the Immaculate Conception.

Because there is a prominent adoring angel on the left of the composition, there is a possibility that the bearded man is actually meant to be the Evangelist Matthew, who is generally shown with the attribute of the angel as symbol of his inspiration. Although Matthew does describe the birth of Christ, he does not refer to the participation of the shepherds.

This painting belongs most likely to a series by De Backer representing the Story of Salvation, which was once in the Collection of Archduke Ernst of Austria, Governor of the Netherlands in 1594 and 1595. Four of these paintings were listed in the Archducal inventory as works by Jacob de Backer: Peccatum Originale, Annunciatio, Passioand Resurrectio. These four works are probably identical to paintings sold by the Schaeffer Gallery in New York in 1958, and described as the Allegory of the Fall of Man, the Annunciation to the Virgin, the Crucifixionand the Resurrection, all approximately the same size as the present panel (66.5×51.5 cm.). This information was kindly provided by Professor Justus Müller Hofstede, who wrote two important articles on Jacob de Backer.

A grisaille study for the present painting, omitting the verses on the bottom, appeared at a Sotheby’s sale on April 8 th, 1987, no. 209 (paper laid down on panel, 24×26 cm; as Otto van Veen).

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