Graat Barend (1628–1708), The Education of Three Children

Graat Barend (Amsterdam, 1628 – 1708)
The Education of Three Children by Minerva and Ceres
Oil on canvas, 80 x 94 cm
With frame, 87 x 111 cm
Signed and dated lower left B. Graat f / 1694

The Education of Three Children by Minerva and Ceres by Barend Graat presents itself as a sumptuous mythological allegory in which the private dimension of portraiture merges with the noble solemnity of seventeenth-century classicism. Set in a garden fading into bluish hills, the painting is framed by monumental architecture and antique-style sculptures that give the scene a theatrical breadth. Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and the arts, dominates the composition wearing a plumed helmet and a dark robe, as she decisively gestures to guide the young pupils along the path of knowledge and virtue. Beside her, Ceres, deity of the earth and prosperity, watches over them with a protective gaze, holding symbols of fertility in her hands that evoke harmonious growth. The three children, whose delicately featured faces suggest they were painted from life, participate in the scene with composure: one of them strokes a small dog, while the others are intent on gathering flowers or observing the goddesses. The entire iconographic scheme was likely conceived for a prestigious noble family in Amsterdam to praise the parents' commitment—and particularly the mother's—to raising their offspring according to the dictates of wisdom and morality. In this portrait historié, it is reasonable to hypothesize that one of the goddesses, most likely Ceres due to her connection to maternal care, depicts the features of the mother herself.

Barend Graat, the creator of this masterful oil on canvas, was born and baptized in Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk in 1629, the city where he spent his entire life. According to historical sources, Graat learned the art of painting under the guidance of his uncle Hans, demonstrating a versatile talent at an early age. Although he never visited Italy, he managed to master the style of Italianate landscapes and genre scenes in the manner of Pieter van Laer, populating his views with farm animals rendered with extreme realism—a skill that brought him renown and allowed him to train prominent pupils such as Johann Heinrich Roos. His works, usually signed "B. Graat fecit" (as in this instance), bear witness to a meticulous attention to detail and a profound knowledge of classical texts, nurtured through contacts with intellectuals of the time, including the poet Jan Vos. The stability of his career was sealed by his marriage in 1660 to a young widow and by the purchase of a plot of land on the Leidsegracht, where he built a residence reflecting his elevated social status. His family life was lived within the Catholic faith, as demonstrated by the baptism of his two daughters in one of the city's "hidden" churches in 1668 and 1670. Beyond easel painting, Graat was an authoritative figure in the Amsterdam art market. In 1672, he was among the experts appointed to evaluate the authenticity of Gerrit Uylenburgh's controversial collection, demonstrating extraordinary technical expertise. For over fifteen years, he transformed his home into a private academy where he imparted the secrets of the trade to new generations, consolidating his reputation as a master. The choice of Minerva and Ceres to educate the children in the work at hand reflects precisely this atmosphere of refined erudition: Minerva educates the mind and intellect, while Ceres nourishes the body and heart, embodying the symbiosis between wisdom and nature that formed the foundation of the pedagogical ideal in the Dutch Golden Age. Graat's artistic legacy was ultimately preserved and disseminated by his nephew Matthijs Pool, paying tribute to the versatility of a painter who knew how to translate mythology into an intimate family tale of care and maternal devotion.