Jacob de Backer (Antwerp, c. 1555 – Antwerp, c. 1585)
The redemption of Adam and Eve after the expulsion from Eden
Oil on oak panel (106 x 76 cm - Framed 126 x 96 cm.)
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The earthly paradise, known as the Garden of Eden, was a place of perfection and happiness where all sorts of delights grew; Adam and Eve were free to eat all the fruits that nature offered them, with the only limit of not taking from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
However, Eve, tempted by the serpent (Genesis 3:1-5), disobeyed God's prohibition, ate the apple from that tree, and then convinced Adam to do the same.
The work we propose shows the consequences of this disobedience, with the expulsion from Paradise and the transmission of original sin to all humanity.
An extremely rare and fascinating theme, it depicts Adam and Eve here chained and held bound by the angel, symbolizing their spiritual death: this iconography plays a key role in Christian theology, reminding us of the consequences of sin and the consequent need for redemption.
Redemption is, in fact, the key theme of the painting: the large, majestic winged angel is ready to save the two sinners, granting them the possibility of redemption and regaining God's grace.
The painting is attributable to Jacob de Backer (Antwerp 1555 – 1585), a Flemish painter active in the second half of the 16th century and one of the most important Mannerist masters of Antwerp, holding a prominent position between the generation of Frans Floris, from whom he was strongly influenced, and that of Rubens.
The painting, clearly the result of a Northern European aesthetic, also demonstrates a significant awareness of Italian art, particularly of the influence of late Florentine and Roman Mannerism, as evidenced by the works of Bronzino, Vasari, and Salviati. This aesthetic was also very much in tune with the prevailing taste at the Prague court of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, and indeed the inventory of the emperor's assets, drawn up after his death in 1612, lists four works by de Backer.
Many of his compositions, although religious in theme, deal with complex allegorical themes, and this was interpreted as proof that the artist had received a humanistic education and that his patrons came from Antwerp's educated class.
The work, in particular, reprises a now lost painting by Marten de Vos, of which, however, an engraving has survived, entitled 'Allegory of Redemption' (ill. 1, https://wellcomecollection.org/works/pe52fbag). A painting derived from the original work is now at the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (ill. 2: https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/fotografia/168240/).
Returning to our work, art historian Justus Müller Hofstede suggested in 1973 that the painting derived from a cycle of five allegorical paintings by De Backer depicting scenes from the life of Jesus (see: Justus Müller Hofstede, Jacques de Backer. Ein Vertreter der Florentinish-Römischen Maniera in Antwerpen), which have appeared in various European sales in recent years.
To accompany the composition offered here, we can therefore mention as counterparts the pair of works 'Nativity' and 'Crucifixion' (ill. 3 Lempertz Cologne, 14.11.2015, lot 1427: https://www.lempertz.com/en/catalogues/lot-1057-1/1427-jacob-de-backer.html), and also an 'Adoration of the Shepherds' (ill. 4 Vienna Palais Dorotheum, 25.10.2023, lot 31: https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/8751569).
See image in details
The painting is in good condition with some cracks between the panels.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The painting is sold complete with a pleasant frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.
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