Jaime Martins Barata (7 March 1899, Santo António das Areias - 15 May 1970, Lisbon) was a Portuguese painter and scholar.
His father, José Pedro Barata, was superintendent at a rural estate; his mother, Antónia de Jesus Martins, a primary-school teacher.
Despite the significant financial strain, Antónia Martins Barata managed to put her children through high-school; and, seeing their good academic performance, later decided to move to Lisbon, where they continued their studies.
It was with this spirit that, while studying to become a teacher, he frequented the halls of the Sociedade Nacional de Belas-Artes, Portugals leading arts society.
This was the first of a long series of large-scale paintings, initially in the oil medium and later, beginning with Romes St Eugene basilica, in the fresco technique.
Some years later (1947) Martins Barata was appointed art consultant to the Portuguese post office, a position he occupied until his retirement.
Although teaching and painting were his main professional occupations, Jaime Martins Barata was a man of many interests and talents.
For example, beginning in the 1930s and until the end of his life, he actively participated in the historical debate over the transition to the Portuguese caravel of the 15th century, the ship that revolutionized ocean navigation.