Jacob Ferdinand Voet (Antwerp 1639 – Paris 1689)
Workshop
Portrait of the young Ortensia Mancini, Duchess of La Meilleraye (Rome 1646 – Chelsea 1699)
oil on canvas
75 x 61 cm. - valuable gilded and lacquered wooden frame with double frame 105 x 61 cm.
The complete details of this work can be consulted directly from the following - LINK -
The beautiful painting offered, depicting the young and attractive Duchess Ortensia Mancini, is part of the refined portraiture of Jacob Ferdinand Voet (Antwerp 1639 – Paris 1689); of Flemish origin, the painter achieved enormous success among the aristocratic families of Rome - where he stayed from 1663 to 1679 - thanks to the famous series of portraits commissioned by Cardinal Flavio Chigi, depicting the most enchanting women of the time, and now preserved in the Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia.
The paintings became so popular that the artist was repeatedly asked to reproduce replicas and similar versions: that of the "cabinet des dames" therefore constituted one of the Roman fashions of the 17th century, thus justifying the large quantity of female portraits attributable to his workshop that gravitate on the market.
Voet flaunted in his portraits a peculiar softness and grace in the rendering of complexions, a subtle voluptuousness in the description of the lips, entrusted to small brushstrokes of red, a sense of calm fixity in the pose, all characteristics that are immediately reflected in the work in question.
Our young depicted woman, Ortensia Mancini, Duchess of La Meilleraye (Rome 1646 – Chelsea 1699), was the favorite niece of Cardinal Giulio Mazzarino, first adviser to the young King of France Louis XIV, and lover of Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland. She was the fourth of the five famous Mancini sisters (together with Laura, Olimpia, Maria, Maria Anne) and often posed for Voet.
Among the many works we can mention the Portrait of Ortensia Mancini in the Louvre, https://www.wga.hu/html_m/v/voet/mancini4.html and of course the one in Palazzo Chigi.
The painting, in particular, is a derivation of the canvas depicting 'Maria Mancini reading the fate to her sister Ortensia', created by the painter around 1661 and now kept in the English Royal Collections of Windsor Castle [1].
Link: https://www.rct.uk/collection/404067/hortense-mancini-duchesse-de-mazarin-1646-99-and-her-sister-mar...
In this work we see the two Mancini sisters, portrayed in half-length, with Ortensia taken again at the age of fifteen, intent on having Maria read her hand. She is dressed in a simple way, with a soft and candid dress that leaves her shoulders uncovered and a red cloak that she gracefully holds, without accessories or lavish jewels. The beauty inherent in her young age is the real protagonist of the canvas.
[1] Jacob Ferdinand Voet, Maria Mancini reads the fate to her sister Ortensia, Windsor Castle
The painting is completed by a wonderful frame in gilded and lacquered wood, richly worked with a double frame.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.
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In case of purchase of the work by non-Italian customers it will be necessary to obtain an export permit which requires approximately 10/20 days, our gallery will take care of the entire phase until obtaining it. All costs of this operation are included.
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