VOET, Jacob Ferdinand
Flemish painter who made his career in Rome in the second half of the 17th century. He was an expert portrait painter who combined solid Flemish professionalism with stylistic features from French and Italian Baroque portraiture. In the history of art, Voet was sinking into undeserved oblivion, until the 1930’s.
Little is known of Voet’s early life in Antwerp. He arrived in Rome in 1663, probably via France. Voet became a much sought-after portrait painter to the Papal court and the Roman aristocracy. He was patronized by Queen Christina of Sweden, who was then resident in Rome, and painted her portrait as well as that of her friend, Cardinal Azzolino. Certain Englishmen who visited Rome on their Grand Tour, also commissioned Voet to paint their portraits. For Roman palaces, Voet painted entire Galleries of Beauties and rows of cardinals. His success in Rome ended in forced exile in 1678, for his brush was an instrument of wantonness. Voet went to France and finally returned to Antwerp.
Voet specialized in half-length portraits, in which all attention is concentrated on the subject, who emerges from a neutral, dark background. He was a sophisticated master of his medium, painting with an effortless accuracy and a fluid ease. Voet’s subjects tend to have a reflective, sometimes slightly anguished expression. Usually they have very striking, memorable eyes, always large and evocative, sometimes even startling, with a haunting look.
