* Jacob Adriaensz. Backer Harlingen 1608 - 1651 Amsterdam

Cook Collection;
With Picture Galleries, New York (as After Rembrandt), by whom sold to
Marc and Lillian Rojtman, on November 20, 1962

We are grateful to Dr. Werner Sumowski for identifying the present painting, on the basis of photographs, as an early work by Jacob Adriaensz. Backer.  Sumowksi compares it to to other early religious works by Backer, the first depicting the Saint Andrew, dated circa 1630 in the collection of the City of York Gallery, York and the second depicting Nathan warning David, dated to the end of the 1620's in a private German collection (see W. Sumowski, Gemälde der Rembrandt-Schüler, vol. I, cat. no. 16; vol. VI, no. 2172).  Sumowski notes the close stylistic similarity to Lambert Jacobsz.