VOUET, Simon
(b. 1590, Paris, d. 1649, Paris)

The Holy Family with Sts Elizabeth, John the Baptist and Catherine

1614-15
Oil on canvas, 182 x 130 cm
Museo del Prado, Madrid

Simon Vouet was one of a number of French artists to visit Rome, travelling via Venice, where he was profoundly influenced by Titian and Veronese. In Rome he came under the influence of both the classicising strand of the Roman Baroque, as can be seen in his Holy family, and Caravaggio. The treatment of colour and draperies betrays the influence of Venetian art, but the composition is classical.