L'Homme à la figue

c. 1604

At 14 paints a commissioned portrait in London

Simon learned the rudiments of art from his father, the painter Laurent Vouet, whom Henri IV made a court painter; helping him, the son mastered the craft early. At fourteen he travelled to England and painted a commissioned portrait of a noble lady in London.

early 1614

Settles in Rome

In Rome Vouet fell under the influence of Caravaggio, drew a pension from the French king and found patrons in Cardinal Barberini (elected Pope Urban VIII in 1623), Cassiano dal Pozzo, Giordano Orsini and Vincenzo Giustiniani. From here he visited Bologna and the Carracci academy, Milan and Naples.

1624

Head of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome

His immense success in Rome brought Vouet election as principe (president) of the Accademia di San Luca.

April 1626

Married: Virginia Vezzi

1627

Returns to Paris at the summons of Louis XIII

At the royal summons Vouet returned to France; Louis XIII commissioned from him portraits, tapestry cartoons and paintings for the Louvre, the Palais du Luxembourg and the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. As one art historian writes, French art was then “painfully provincial”, and Vouet, introducing the latest Italian fashions, brought Paris up to date.

30 June 1649

Died