Simon Vouet

Happy Birthday Simon Vouet! Today we look at another Baroque painter born 1590, in France. Both his father and brother were also painters. Vouet lived in Italy from 1613-1627, where he adopted the Baroque style, immersing it into French painting upon his return to France. His work was greatly influenced by Champaigne (cool colors) and Poussin (composition). The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is an example of Vouet's painting. The crisp clear figures are similar to the handling of Michelangelo. Note the awkward handling of perspective in the steps at the bottom right. Perspective drawing was perfected by Leonardo Da Vinci in the late 1400’s, however it took some time to catch on and many artists had difficulty with the technical aspects of the technique of showing depth in a picture.