95. Simon Voilet
Was born at Paris, Jan. 8. 1586. He began to be taken no∣tice of, before he was well fourteen years of age, and travailed when very young to Turkey, at the instance of the Baron de Sancy Ambassadour of France to the Ottoman Port, the said Am∣bassador taking him in his retinue to draw the Grand Seignor's Picture, and the most considerable places about Constantinople; but Voilet at his arrival, finding the difficulty of performing his Design, by reason of the Turkish Laws, was forced to take a quite different method, from the usual practice, and to imprint in his mind by the force of Imagination the Sultans visage, such as he observed it to be, in his attending the Ambassador at his audience, and at other times; which he did with so much Accuracy, that his Draught of it afterwards when retired to his Chamber, according to those Ideas he had before con∣ceived, appeared to resemble the Original as exactly to the life, as if the Sultan had sat on purpose for it: This was look't upon to be so extraordinary an effect of Ingenuity, that he was richly rewarded for it, and was so generally esteemed and applauded by men of Judgment, that divers Copies were made of it by several excellent hands. After this he went to Rome, where he married Virginie Vezzo Vellatrano a Lady of ex∣traordinary beauty, and skilful in Painting, as appears by many excellent Prints, that are to be seen after her Designs. Du¦ring his abode there, he was in good esteem with Pope Ʋrban the 8th, and the Cardinal his Nephew. At length, at the command of Lewis the 13th. his natural Prince, he forsook Rome, and the glories thereof, and returned to France in the year 1628, having left behind him several Monuments of his Pencil, which were held in equal reputation with some of the best in Italy, and placed as a Testimony thereof, in the Church of St. Peters at Rome, where nothing that is common is suffer∣ed to come: His first Imployment in his native Countrey was at the Palace of Luxembourgh, which he adorned with many curious Designs. He Painted several fine things for the Lou∣vre, and for the Galleries and Chappel of Cardinal Richlieu's Pallace, and also in his Castle of Ruell; for the Mareschal d' Effiats fine House at Chilly, for the Queens Baths, and at St. Germains: The King himself was so delighted with the charm∣ing Beauties and Ornaments of his Painting, that he would needs learn of him to handle the Pencil, and often employed his Royal Hand in Drawing of Pictures, which he bestowed a∣mong his Favourites after he had taken the Pleasure of doing them, The King of England had so great a fancy for him, that he endeavoured by many Sollicitations to get him into his Service, but could not prevail; yet Ʋouet sent him some of his Pieces, as an acknowledgment of his respect and vencrati∣on for so great a Prince. He died at the age of 59 years, to the great grief of a multitude of his Disciples, who in imita∣tion of him have raised Painting to as great a pitch, and made it as renowned in France, as in any other part of Europe.