Redemption of Adam and Eve after the expulsion from Eden, Jacob de Backer (Antwerp, ca. 1555 – ca. 1585)

Jacob de Backer (Antwerp, circa 1555 – Antwerp, circa 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 limitation 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 to you shows the consequences of such disobedience, with the expulsion from Paradise and the transmission of original sin to all humanity.

An extremely rare and fascinating theme, Adam and Eve are chained and held bound by the angel, to symbolize 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 of regaining the grace of God.

The painting is attributable to Jacob de Backer (Antwerp 1555 – 1585), a Flemish painter active in the second half of the sixteenth century and one of the most important Mannerist masters of Antwerp, occupying a prominent position between the generation of Frans Floris, by whom he was strongly influenced, and that of Rubens.

The painting, clearly the product of a Northern European aesthetic, also demonstrates a significant awareness of Italian art, particularly the influence of late Florentine and Roman Mannerism, as seen in 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 estate, 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 has been interpreted as evidence that the artist had received a humanistic education and that his patrons came from the educated class of Antwerp.

The work, in particular, takes up a now lost painting by Marte de Vos, of which however the engraving has survived, entitled precisely 'Allegory of Redemption' (imm.1, https://wellcomecollection.org/works/pe52fbag). A painting taken from the original work is now at the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (imm.2: https://catalogo.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/scheda/fotografia/168240/).

Returning to our work, the 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.

In addition to the composition offered here, we can mention as counterparts the pair of works 'Nativity' and 'Crucifixion' (imm.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' (imm.4 Vienna Palais Dorotheum, 25.10.2023, lot 31: https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/8751569 ).

See image in detail

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 descriptive iconographic card.

We take care of and organize the transport of the purchased works, both for Italy and abroad, through professional and insured carriers.

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