Attributed to Jacob de Backer (Harlingen 1608-1651 Amsterdam)

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Attributed to Jacob de Backer (Harlingen 1608-1651 Amsterdam)
The Discovery of Erichthonius by the Daughters of Cecrops
oil on canvas
54¾ x 62¼ in. (139.1 x 158.2 cm.)

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 25 March 1977, lot 100, as 'Flemish School, circa 1600'.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, New York, 11 January 1990, lot 36, as 'Marten de Vos'.

Specialist note

We are grateful to Dr. Eliska Fucikova for proposing that this picture can be attributed to Jacob de Backer, noting that it could be an early work by the artist and that the landscape is by another hand. The statue of the reclining male nude in the background derives from the river god Nile in the Vatican, which was excavated in the early 16th century.