Flemish painter and draughtsman. According to van Mander, as a young
boy de Backer was abandoned by his father, also a painter, who had
to flee Antwerp because of an impending court trial. Jacob then
worked for several years in the studio of Antonio van Palermo
(1503/13–before 1589) and later entered the workshop of Hendrick van
Steenwijck. Van Mander further claimed that the strenuous labour
that van Palermo had imposed on the young man had so wrecked his
health that he died at the age of 30, in the arms of his former
master’s daughter. This, van Mander added, happened a long time ago,
thus implying that de Backer died before van Steenwijck left Antwerp
in 1586. This is confirmed by other evidence, including the age of
van Palermo’s daughter Lucretia, who was baptized in Antwerp on 25
July 1561. She lived until 1626 and at the time of her death still
possessed six paintings by de Backer.
An allegory of Truth and Justice
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