Margarita Trip as Minerva, Instructing her Sister Anna Maria Trip, Ferdinand Bol, 1663
In 1662 the fabulously wealthy Trip family moved into the stateliest private residence in all of Amsterdam. Hanging above a mantelpiece in one of the private rooms was this portrait of two of the Trip daughters: Margarita, wearing a helmet and a breastplate, represents Minerva (goddess of art and science), and the eager student kneeling by her side is her eleven-yearold sister Anna Maria. In reality, Anna Maria received instruction from a private tutor.