Vouet, Simon

(1590-1649)

   painter

   simon Vouet, who brought italian influences to French baroque painting, was born in Paris and studied with his father, Laurent Vouet, who was the painter of the royal stables of King henry iv. The younger Vouet's talents were evident early on and, after 1604, he became known as a portrait painter during a visit to England. in 1611, he accompanied the French ambassador to Turkey on a visit to Constantinople (Portrait du sultan Mustafa I), and then traveled for 15 years throughout italy. in Rome, he gained great repute, becoming the protégé of Cardinal Barberini and, in Genoa, of the Dorias. He opened a school using live models and, in 1624, became the "prince" of the Academy of saint Luke. Vouet painted genre scenes and religious subjects (La Cène, 1625) and evolved from an initial Caravaggio-like style, which manipulated light and shadow, to a clear and elegant mannerism that shows diverse influences (Bolognese and Venetian), which he easily assimilated. Recalled to France in 1627 and named first painter to the king, he received a multitude of commissions, notably to decorate the châteaux of Chilly, saint-Germain, and Wideville and the mansions of Bullion and saguier. But his glory faded with the arrival of Nicolas poussin in Paris. Vouet, who loved brilliant colors and studied poses brought to France the taste for large compositions and an expressiveness that would become the basis of the academic style.