Jacob Adriaensz Backer

Portrait of a man

Panel, 58.5 x 42.5 cm

This portrait was probably painted between 1635 and 1640. The man's clothes are not inconsistent with a date around the middle of the 1630s, when this type of flat, square collar with lace edging and decorative tie cords was common. Backer was a celebrated artist who received a number of important commissions for group portraits of regents and militia companies. He died at a relatively early age, however, in 1651. Around 25 of his portraits have survived.