His mother was sickly; his father, a stained-glass painter, a bad provider.

During his time in the city he was working as a stained-glass painter, possibly for a firm of decorators, such as J & W Guthrie.

Post was baptised in Haarlem, the son of a stained-glass painter and the older brother of painter Frans Post.

They include Gene Hoefel, whose mixed-media works retell Bible stories for contemporary viewers; Albinas Elskus, a stained-glass painter; and Dong Hee Suh, who makes ceramic sculptures.