Jacob Ferdinand Voet (1639-1689), Portrait Of Hortense Mancini.

Jacob Ferdinand Voet (1639-1689), portrait of Hortense Mancini

Relined canvas measuring 68.5 cm by 58 cm.
Old frame called Carlo Maratta frame measuring 86 cm by 76 cm.

One could not dream of a more romantic existence than that of Hortense Mancini (1646-1699), Duchess of Mazarin, Countess of Rozoy. She is therefore Mazarin's niece, like her uncle she becomes a character at court, courted by a king, Charles II, she obtains the protection of another, Louis XIV. Hortense gets involved in political affairs, major plots and petty gossip. She is a tireless traveler, a proverbial lover. Just like her sister Marie, she does not limit herself to living; the two sisters talk about what they have experienced, they defend themselves, they sometimes attack, but always draw, analyze and make a lot of people talk.

Jacob Ferdinand Voet (1639-1689)

Little is known about Jacob Ferdinand Voet's childhood and youth, his education and early career. According to the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD), he was born in Antwerp, the son of the painter Elias Voet. He went to Rome, where he had a brilliant career as a portrait painter from 1663 to 1679, then to Milan in 1680, Florence in 1681, Turin in 1682-1684 and returned to Antwerp in 1684. While in Rome, he lived with the painter-engraver Cornelis Bloemaert. Voet became a member of the so-called Bentvueghels, a group of mainly Dutch and Flemish painters in Rome. One of his acquaintances at the time, Johan van Bunnik, later reported that Voet had painted all the members on the whitewashed wall of the Roman inn where the Bentvueghels often met. The painting was highly regarded and whenever the walls were repainted it was left in place. In Rome, Voet's talents as a portrait painter were highly sought after, both at the papal court and among the Roman aristocracy, including influential families such as the Colonnas and Odescalchis. He also left a portrait of Christina of Sweden, who resided in Rome, and her confidant, Cardinal Decio Azzolini. Similarly, wealthy Europeans who came to Rome on their Grand Tour had their paintings done by him. In 1671/72, Voet received Cardinal Flavio Chigi, who commissioned him to paint young women from the Roman aristocracy. Between 1672 and 1678, he produced a first series of 37 portraits of the most beautiful women in Rome (Galleria delle Belle) for the Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia, south of Rome. Later, he copied and expanded this series for other noble Roman and Italian families, which triggered a real craze for portraits of young women in Rome and elsewhere. Among Voet's portraits of women, we particularly note numerous portraits of the Mancini sisters, Marie and Hortense. Disowned by Pope Innocent XI for his female portraits, which were considered indecent, he undertook a trip to Paris in 1685 where he became court painter until his death.