01 Work, Interpretations of Rome , Circle of Jacob de Backer's Porcia, wife of Brutos, with footnotes #38

Circle of Jacob de Backer (Flemish, b. ca. 1540–d. before 1600)

Detail; Porcia swallowing hot coals

Oil on Canvas

176.7 x 103.7 cm. (69.6 x 40.8 in.)

Private collection

Circle of Jacob de Backer (Flemish, b. ca. 1540–d. before 1600)

Porcia swallowing hot coals

Oil on Canvas

176.7 x 103.7 cm. (69.6 x 40.8 in.)

Private collection

Sold for 12,500 GBP in December 2011

Porcia Catonis’  (c. 73 BC – June 43 BC), famous second marriage was to her first cousin, Marcus Junius Brutus, the close friend of the Roman emperor Julius Caesar who plotted his murder. Information about Porcia comes from ancient sources such as Plutarch, and most of it has a decidedly literary quality. For instance, it is said that Brutus revealed the assassination plot to Porcia and, to prove she was worthy of his confidence and could withstand torture if need be, stabbed herself in the thigh. Shortly after Brutus’ suicide in 42 B.C.E. and the downfall of the conservative party, which had instigated Caesar’s assassination, Porcia also committed suicide, supposedly by swallowing hot coals. It is more likely, however, that she inhaled smoke from a charcoal fire, which was not uncommon as a method of suicide at the time. More on Porcia Catonis

Jacob de Backer (c. 1555 – c. 1591) was a Flemish Mannerist painter and draughtsman active in Antwerp between about 1571 and 1585. Even though he died young at the age of 30, the artist was very prolific and an extensive body of work has been attributed to him. Art historians are not agreed on how many of these works are autograph or the product of a workshop. The works attributed to the artist or his workshop are executed in a late-Mannerist style clearly influenced by Italian models. More on Jacob de Backer

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