Portrait of a woman with a whitecap

The present portrait was published for the first time in 1934 by the famous arthistorian Otto Benesch as a portrait by Rembrandt from his early Amsterdam period, e.g. 1633/34. When Jacob Backer arrived in Amsterdam in (late?) 1632, he frequented Uylenburgh 's Academy regularly. Rembrandt, who was only some 2 years older than Backer, was the head of Uylenburgh's studio and with his new painting style had rapidly become the foremost portrait painter in the city. It is no wonder then that Backer, who was trained as history painter, looked to Rembrandts portraits as examples to try and emulate. In this very accomplished painting Backer portrays his middleaged subject with a very refined technique, giving her great presence