Barent Graat-engraving by Mattys Pool after selfportrait

Barend Graat (21 September 1628,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

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

RKD The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

was a Dutch painter of history- and

altarpieces An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject 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 ...

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

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

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, 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 proce ...

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 ...

Biography

Barent Graat - Equestrian Portrait of a Gentleman - WGA10345

Barend Graat was baptized in the

Nieuwe Kerk (Amsterdam) The Nieuwe Kerk (, ''New Church'') is a 15th-century church in Amsterdam located on Dam Square, next to the Royal Palace. Formerly a Dutch Reformed Church parish, it now belongs to the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. Current uses The Nieuwe ...

. 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 form or type 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 for ...

s in the manner of

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

.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 painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of Dutch Golden Age painters. Life Houbraken was sent first to learn ''threadtwisting'' (Twyndraat) fr ...

, courtesy of the

Digital library for Dutch literature The Digital Library for Dutch Literature (Dutch: Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren or DBNL) is a website (showing the abbreviation as dbnl) about Dutch language and Dutch literature. It contains thousands of literary texts, second ...

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 His family had emigrated to Amsterdam due to the Thirty Years' War in 1640. 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 plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. 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, the 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 Leids ...

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 ca ...

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

Matthijs Pool Matthijs Pool (1676–1740)Matthijs Pool
in the

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 building the Amst ...

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 or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

Cesare Ripa Cesare Ripa (c. 1555, Perugia – Rome) was an Italian iconographer who worked for Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati as a cook and butler. Life Little is known about his life. He was born of humble origin in Perugia about 1555. The exact date of ...

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

References

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