FOLLOWER OF JACOB DE BACKER | The Last Judgment

In the collection of the present owners for at least two generations.

Numerous versions of this composition exist, including the painting sold at Christie's, New York, 28 January 2015, lot 107, which has been identified as the autograph prototype of the design.¹ Another version, in Antwerp Cathedral, is also considered autograph. A painting on canvas and in horizontal format, in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, was formerly considered to be the source for this composition, but the painting's authenticity was dismissed by Dirk de Vos in 1973.²

1 https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/jacob-de-backer-antwerp-c-1555-1585-the-5868351-details.aspx

2 D. de Vos, 'Het 'Laatste Oordeel' door Jacob de Backer: een problem van oorspronkelijkheid', in Bulletin Koninklijke musea voor schone kunsten van België, vol. XXII, 1973, pp. 59-72.