Barent Graat-engraving by Mattys Pool after selfportrait

Barend Graat (21 September 1628,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

– 4 November 1709, Amsterdam),Barend Graat
in the

RKD The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: ), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in document ...

was a Dutch painter of history- and

altarpieces An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

and portraits in the Golden Age. He is also known as a

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...

and

draughtsman A draughtsman (British spelling) or draftsman (American spelling) may refer to: * An architectural drafter, who produced architectural drawings until the late 20th century * An artist who produces drawings that rival or surpass their other types o ...

Biography

Barent Graat - Equestrian Portrait of a Gentleman - WGA10345

Barend Graat was baptized in the

Nieuwe Kerk (Amsterdam) The Nieuwe Kerk (, ) is a 15th-century church in Amsterdam located on Dam Square, next to the Royal Palace. Originally a Roman Catholic church, it became a Dutch Reformed Church church in 1578. It now belongs to the Protestant Church in the Neth ...

. According to Houbraken, who only saw his etchings, Graat learned to paint from his uncle Hans. Though he never traveled to Italy, he became proficient in making small Italianate landscapes and

genre piece Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other form ...

s in the manner of

Pieter van Laer Pieter Bodding van Laer (christened 14 December 1599, in Haarlem – 1641 or later) was a Dutch Painting, painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He was active in Rome for over a decade and was known for Genre works, genre scenes, animal paintings a ...

.Barend Graat biography
in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by

Arnold Houbraken Arnold Houbraken (28 March 1660 – 14 October 1719) was a Dutch people, Dutch Painting, painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadt ...

, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature He signed his works ''B. Graat fecit''. Graat was known for his skill painting farm animals, and taught the painter

Johann Heinrich Roos Johann Heinrich Roos (29 September 1631, Otterberg – 3 October 1685, Frankfurt) was a German Baroque era landscape painter and etcher. Biography Roos was born in Otterberg, a town in the Palatinate in 1631. His family had emigrated to Amste ...

, whom he outlived. Graat had connections with

Jan Vos Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numbe ...

, a poet and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

. In 1660 he married a young widow and decided not to travel to Italy, although he had made preparations. In 1664 he bought a plot and had a house build on

Leidsegracht The Leidsegracht () is a canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is a cross-canal in Amsterdam-Center that connects Herengracht, Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht and Lijnbaansgracht and flows into the Singelgracht at Marnixstraat. History The Leidseg ...

In 1668 and 1670 two daughters were baptized in a hidden Catholic church. In 1672 he was one of the painters evaluating a collection of paintings sold by Gerrit Uylenburgh to pronounce their authenticity. For fifteen years, the painter led an art academy at his house. Graat lived to the great age of 81 and was active as a decorative painter, creating ''Grisailles'' and

overmantel The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and ...

pieces for the regent families of Amsterdam, many of which survive today. His nephew

Matthijs Pool Matthijs Pool (1676–1740)Matthijs Pool
in the RKD was an engraver from the Dutch Republic.

Bi ...

who married his daughter in 1708 engraved drawings that Graat made of ivory sculptures by Francis de Bossuit and published these in 1727. The

Amsterdams Historisch Museum The Amsterdam Museum, known until 2010 as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, is an Amsterdam-based museum dedicated to the city's past and present. Due to the renovation of its main location, the museum is temporarily located in the Amstelhof on the ...

has an ''Allegory of Care'' painting in their collection from the former Old Men's Almshouse, based on an

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

Cesare Ripa Cesare Ripa (, Perugia – Rome) was an Italian Renaissance scholar and iconography, iconographer. Life Little is known about his life. The scant biographical information that exists derives from his one very successful work: the ''Iconologia ...

.Allegorie op de Verzorging in het Oude Mannen- en Vrouwengasthuis, 1685
on the AHM website

Gallery

;A gallery of paintings done by Barend Graat and/or depicting Barend Graat: File:Portrait of a man, thought to be Baruch de Spinoza, attributed to Barend Graat.jpg, Portrait of a man, thought to be Baruch de Spinoza, attributed to Barend Graat File:Barent Graat-engraving by Mattys Pool after selfportrait.png, Posthumous engraving by Matthijs Pool after a self-portrait. File:Barent Graat - Equestrian Portrait of a Gentleman - WGA10345.jpg, Equestrian Portrait of a Gentleman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graat, Barend 1628 births 1709 deaths Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Painters from Amsterdam