(Amsterdam 1628–1709)

Portrait of a young girl with cherries, signed and dated lower right: ‘BGraet fe 1681’, oil on canvas, 80 x 64 cm, framed

Barent Graet, who concentrated at first on landscape painting in the tradition of Amsterdam Classicism, only achieved mastery of the portrait genre later in life. As is demonstrated in this painting, his portraits, which were received very favourably from early in his career, are characterised in their lively, elegant compositions, rich coloration and a particularly fine draughtsmanship. He was active at many European courts, with the result that his works are today to be found at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, as well as at Buckingham Palace, London, and were formerly in the collection of the Gräflich Czernin’sche Galerie in Vienna. Further proof of his success can be seen in the fact that he took on apprentices at an early stage, among whom were Johann Heinrich Roos and Hieronymus van Uffelen. As an outstanding exponent of the last ‘Golden Age’ generation of Dutch painting, he also had a reputation as an authority on art. In consequence he was called to the Berlin court in 1672 to participate in a committee of experts asked to review a collection which had been offered to the Prince Elector. Graet’s fame, however, was founded upon a series of unusually signed and impressive portraits, to which the present work belongs.