Simon Vouet was a French painter and draftsman, who today is perhaps best remembered for helping to introduce the Italian Baroque style of painting to France. Born on January 9, 1590, in Paris, Vouet's father Laurent was a painter in Paris and taught him the rudiments of art. His brother Aubin Vouet and his grandson Ludovico Dorigny were also painters.
Early Career
Vouet began his painting career as a portrait painter. At age 14, he traveled to England to paint a commissioned portrait and in 1611 was part of the entourage of the Baron de Sancy, French ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, for the same purpose. From Constantinople, he went to Venice (1612) and was in Rome by 1614. He remained in Italy until 1627, mostly in Rome where the Baroque style was emerging during these years.
Artistic Style
Vouet's immense success in Rome led to his election as president of the
Accademia di San Luca in 1624. He was a natural academic, who absorbed what he saw and studied, and distilled it in his painting: Caravaggio's dramatic lighting; Italian Mannerism;
Paolo Veronese's color and di sotto in su or foreshortened perspective; and the art of Carracci, Guercino, Lanfranco and
Guido Reni. Vouet's new style was distinctly Italian, importing the Italian Baroque style into France.
Notable Works and Influence
Vouet's sizeable atelier or workshop produced a whole school of French painters for the following generation. His most influential pupil was
Charles le Brun, who organized all the interior decorative painting at Versailles and dictated the official style at the court of Louis XIV of France. Vouet's other students included
Valentin de Boulogne,
Charles Alphonse du Fresnoy,
Pierre Mignard,
Eustache Le Sueur, and
Claude Mellan. For more information on Vouet's works, visit the
Simon Vouet page on WahooArt.com.
Key Points:
For more information on Simon Vouet and his works, visit the
Simon Vouet page or check out the
Musée Réattu in Arles, France. You can also learn more about other artists on WahooArt.com by visiting their respective pages, such as
Paul Joseph Jamin.