Seated Female Nude

Though Jacob Backer's talents were often overshadowed by his more famous Amsterdam contemporary, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), his nudes found wide acclaim, and deservedly so, as this masterful drawing clearly testifies. His subject sits with her head turned in profile and resting on her right hand. The softness of female flesh is exquisitely rendered with carefully placed highlights, while shaded areas describe the delicate slackening of her skin on her upper back and just below her breast.