Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 14

(Studio of) Jacob Ferdinand Voet
Portrait of a Lady, Maria Virginia Borghese Chigi Princess Farnese Oil on canvas

circa 1663-1678

About the Item

This exquisite portrait, presented by Titan Fine Art, belongs to a type of portrait known as ‘Les Belle Romanes’. Voet is perhaps best remembered for his series of them – a great set of portraits of the most enchanting women of Rome. Inspired by the Mancini sisters, these portraits from 1672 onwards included sitters from the Chigi, Savoia and Massimo families, as well as other celebrated Italian dynasties. The paintings were so popular that the artist was repeatedly asked to reproduce replicas and versions. After working mainly in Italy, his reputation was such that he spent the last years of his life as ‘Pittore del Re’ – official portraitist to the Sun King, Louis XIV, in Paris. With such international production, his fame even surpassed that of Pierre Mignard, Carlo Maratta, Giovanni Maria Morandi and Baciccio, his main rivals in the genre. The subject is Maria Virginia Borghese Chigi (1642-1718) who was a member of the ancient Borghese family originally from Siena; the family first came to prominence in the 13th century. The family moved to Rome in the 16th century and there, Camillo was elected as Pope Paul V in 1605. As an extended family the Borghese became some of the largest landowners of the Roman Campagna, increasing their wealth by their strategic control of their properties and a concerted policy of assuming monopolies of milling grain and the rights to run inns. The family were a major patron of the arts and their art collection was established as the Galleria Borghese located in the family's former property, Villa Borghese. Maria Virginia is shown with the grandiloquence characteristic of Voet’s portraits. Painted in Rome in circa 1670, when the artist was at the height of his powers, the portrait displays great luminosity, it is no wonder why Voet was one Europe's premier painters of portraits during the last quarter of the 17th century (and court painter to the French King Louis XIV). The image illustrates the artist's virtuosic handling of material and his consummate skill. Our sitter married Agostino Chigi (1634-1705) on 25 April 1659 in her hometown, and Agostino acquired the principalities of Farnese (1658), Campagnano (1661) and Ariccia. The Chigi family were another immensely rich and powerful family originally from Siena, first mentioned in the 13th century. Perhaps the most famous member was the rich banker, Agostino Chigi (1465–1520). Jacob Ferdinand Voet (c.1639-1689) was a highly successful Flemish portrait painter who worked in both Italy and France. Voet is regarded as one of the best and most fashionable portrait painters of the Late Baroque. His ambition led him first to Rome and then on to Paris, where his stylish technique and attention to costume was eagerly endorsed by the most fashionable and eminent sitters. The artist’s phenomenal success was in part due to his renowned affability, enabling him to obtain the favour of new patrons and to maintain his professional relations with all the major families of the Roman nobility. He travelled extensively in Italy, executing numerous commissions in Como and Milan and it is probable that he also travelled to Genoa, and certainly to Florence, Modena and Parma. When he was in Rome, from 1663 to 1679, he was consistently marked by patronage from the Papal court and the local aristocracy, including the Mancini and Colonna families. He painted an elite clientele and aristocratic tourists conducting their Grand Tours of Italy. Examples of the artist’s work can be found in many of the best international art museums including the National Portrait Gallery London. A Portrait of Maria Mancini by the artist sold at Kunsthaus Lempertz November 14, 2020 [Lot 2069] for 18,750 EUR (22,189 USD). Portrait of a lady of the Colonna family by the artist sold at Christie's June 23, 2020 [Lot 17] for 16,250 GBP (20,355 USD). Portrait of Hortense Mancini, in the guise of Aphrodite by the artist sold at Christie's London July 5, 2019 [Lot 233] for 62,500 GBP (78,134 USD. Measurements: Height 84.5cm, Width 71cm framed (Height 33.25”, Width 28” framed)
  • Creator:
    (Studio of) Jacob Ferdinand Voet (1639 - 1700, Flemish)
  • Creation Year:
    circa 1663-1678
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 33.27 in (84.5 cm)Width: 27.96 in (71 cm)Depth: 1.97 in (5 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    This painting has passed a strict quality and condition assessment by a professional conservator prior to going on sale. It can be hung and enjoyed immediately.
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU119918280212
More From This SellerView All
  • Portrait of Lady, Grace Saunderson, Viscountess Castleton Oil on canvas Painting
    By Studio of Sir Peter Lely
    Located in London, GB
    Portrait of Grace Saunderson, Viscountess Castleton (1635-1667) c.1665-67 Sir Peter Lely and Studio (1618-1680) Titan Fine Art present this work, which formed part of a collection of family pictures and heirlooms of the Saunderson, Viscount Castleton family and their descendants, the Earls of Scarbrough, at their magnificent family seat Sandbeck Park, where the Earls still reside today almost four hundred years later. It was painted in the studio of Sir Peter Lely...
    Category

    17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Portrait of a Lady in an Elaborate Stone Cartouche, Oil on canvas Painting
    By Mary Beale
    Located in London, GB
    Portrait of a Lady in an Elaborate Stone Cartouche c.1675-80 Mary Beale (1632-1699) Titan Fine Art present this superb portrait where the sitter has been portrayed wearing a low-cut white chemise under a gold silk robe with a draped light...
    Category

    17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Portrait of a Lady in a Blue Gown Holding a Sheer Scarf c.1675-85, Oil on canvas
    By Kneller Godfrey
    Located in London, GB
    Portrait of a Lady in a Blue Gown Holding a Sheer Scarf c.1675-85 Studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) Titan Fine Art present this captivating portrait by the leading late seve...
    Category

    17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Portrait of a Lady, Katherine St Aubyn, Godolphin, Cornelius Johnson, Oil canvas
    By Cornelius Johnson
    Located in London, GB
    Titan Fine Art are pleased to present this charming bust-length portrait, which is a good example of the style of portrait painted in England in the second quarter of the seventeenth century. The attire consists of the finest silks, and the full billowing sleeves, bows, and hairstyle help in dating this portrait to circa 1637. The accessory par excellence – pearls – are worn as a necklace and were a very popular accessory. The artist makes no attempt to obey the rules of Baroque and instead sensitively depicts in complete honesty his sitter against a plain wall, and without distracting backdrops and flowing draperies – this work is very redolent of the sumptuous half-length female portraits that Cornelius Johnson...
    Category

    17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil

  • Portrait of Gentleman in Lace Cravat & Armour 1680’s Painting, Fine Carved Frame
    By (circle of) Pierre Mignard
    Located in London, GB
    Titan Fine Art presents this portrait of a brave and chivalrous character. The gentleman has been depicted in armour, an elaborate full wig, and in accordance with the latest French fashion, an elaborate type of Venetian Gros point lace cravat and large silk bow (also called a cravat-string) – a type that were popular across Europe in the 1680’s. Point lace was fabulously expensive - a cravat was equivalent to six weeks income for a gentleman - and therefore indicative of a wearer's wealth and social class. A nobleman riding onto the battlefield would wear a lace cravat over his armour to demonstrate his status. The attire, along with the coat-of-arms, help to proclaim to every onlooker that the gentleman is a superior being. The depiction of the lace, apart from denoting the wealth of the sitter, was a deliberate way for the artist to demonstrate his own artistic ambition and technical skills Argent seasoned gule with three lozenges sable are those of the Crois family, who were minor nobility, originating from the Boulogne region in the north of France. The fact that the sitter is a high ranking noble excludes him as a member of the Crois family. As is so commonly the case, the coat of arms was a later addition, probably in the nineteenth century, by a family who sought to glorify their pedigree by adding their arms to the portrait. These arms are now an interesting part of the portraits history. The artist has captured a sense of the sitter’s character and the features of the sitter’s face have been rendered with great sensitivity. His confident gaze perhaps reflecting the near invincibility afforded by this steel suit. The work is a very good example of French portraiture from the period. Presented in an exquisite hand-carved and gilded seventeenth century frame - which is an exceptional work of art in itself. Pierre Mignard, known as le Romain, was a French painter of the court of the French King Louis XIV and was, with Charles Le Brun (1619-90), one of the most successful painters during the reign of Louis XIV. After training in Troyes, where he was born, and in Bourges, Mignard joined the studio of Simon Vouet in Paris in 1627. He went to Italy in 1636 and remained there until 1657. He studied the work of Correggio and Pietro da Cortona in Rome as well as copying Annibale Carracci's frescoes in the Palazzo Farnese. On Le Brun's death in 1690 he succeeded him as its Director and as First Painter to the King painting...
    Category

    17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • English Portraits of Lady, Dorothy & Jane Wood c.1750, Remarkable Carved Frames
    By John Theodore Heins
    Located in London, GB
    Portraits of a Lady, Dorothy and Jane Wood c.1750, Fine Carved Frames By John Theodore Heins (1697-1756) Titan Fine Art present these works, which formed part of a collection of family heirlooms of the Wood family who were from Bracon Ash, Norfolk, since the medieval period. Jane’s daughter Ann, was famously married on board the Foudroyant, off Naples, in a lavish ceremony in 1799, with Lord Nelson himself giving away the bride. The paintings descended within the family for around 275 years until recent and are exquisite examples of Georgian portraiture in England and are some of the best works by the artist. The original hand carved and gilded pierced frames are magnificent works of art in their own right. The sitters were two children, out of several, of Thomas Wood (1682-176) and Dorothy Huby (1700-1759). The family is from Norwich, which in 1720 was a city second in importance only to London. Their aunt, Jane Wood (1677-1756), was a Franciscan nun in Bruges. Dorothy Wood (in the blue dress) was baptised 2nd June 1726 and she died unmarried around 1759. Jane (in the pink dress) gave birth to at least six children during her thirty two-year marriage. She was baptised 14 Oct 1727 at Bracon Ash. Jane married Knipe Gobbet (1730/5-1791) who was Sheriff in 1768 (and Mayor in 1771) of the City of Norwich, and later Lieutenant-Colonel of the West Norfolk Regiment, in which corps he had served in for many years. According to Payne’s Universal Chronicle or Weekly Gazette the marriage took place on 7th July 1758. Knipe was born at his family seat, Tacolneston Hall, to parents George Gobbet, who was Sheriff in 1710, and Ann. The couple bought and lived in a house in Norwich (later known as Gurney’s Bank House) until 1778 before moving to another one at 10 St Stephen’s Street, Norwich. Later, they inherited the family seat of Tacolnestan Hall and lived there for the remainder of their lives. Knipe Gobbet was a prominent individual and in 1779 he gave the corporation of Norwich 100 pounds, to be disposed of as they might think proper, and soon after that he was presented with a handsome field tent, marquee, and camp equipage, in testimony of their esteem for his dedication to the defence and service of this country at a time when threatened by an invasion. Although Jane was baptised a Roman Catholic Knipe was a prominent local wine merchant, JP, Alderman, sheriff, mayor and Lieutenant. Roman Catholics may have paid lip service to religious conformity as they were excluded from certain areas of public life before the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829. Such discrimination probably lies behind the why their children are included in the registers of both the Anglican church in Tacolneston and the Norwich Catholic church in the 1760s. Jane and Knipe had one son, Thomas, who died at the age of four of a small-pox inoculation in 1762 (memorial stones in the Church of All Saints, Tacolneston) and many daughters who were schooled at the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady, in Paris. Their oldest daughter, Anne (1760-1817) was born at Tacolneston Hall. She came to the convent 30 Sept 1774 and ten days later she went to Dames St Sacrament, Rue St Louis in Paris. Their second daughter, Dorothy (died suddenly of apoplexy 21st Nov 1813), came to the convent 19th July 1777 when she was 16 years old and returned to England 23 March 1779. Frances (baptised 22 Feb 1763) came to the convent 16th April 1772 when she was 9 years old and returned 29th May 1777 – however she returned again to the convent 16th May 1778 and left 15th Oct 1778 to return home again. She later married and her surname became Negri. Another daughter, Jane, is thought to have married Juan Manuel Martinez in 1784. There was also another daughter, Mary. The eldest daughter, Ann, first married Peter Bottalini of London 27 Oct 1783 at Tacolneston Hall. They had one son together. She then married on 9th July 1799, Dr William Compton (1733- Clifton 1824), the Chancellor of Ely and the next collateral male relation to the Earl of Northampton (he had earlier marriages to Caroline and Catherine). William Compton later retired from the Commons and spent many years on the continent acting as Chancellor of Ely by proxy from 1777 for the remainder of his life. The couple were British residents of Posilipo Naples and the marriage was hosted on board the Foudroyant, off Naples, where the bride was given away by the Right Hon. Lord Nelson himself. The marriage document, signed by Lord Nelson, Lady Emma Hamilton, Captain Thomas Hardy, and others descended within the family, until sold in a sale that raised worldwide interest in 2023, for £20,160. The document is accompanied by a contemporary manuscript account of the wedding, headed 'Paragraph for the papers, sent to Messrs Coutts & Co with request to have it inserted'. Lord Nelson was a household name in Britain due to his many victories, including the Battle of the Nile against the French Navy in August 1798 – which came before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The document states: 'This is to certify that, on board the Foudroyant lying in Naples Bay, on the ninth of July 1799 the marriage between William Compton & Mrs Anne Bottalin, widow, was solemnized by me S. G. Comyn HM. Chaplain to the Right Honble Lord Nelson, H.M.S. Foudroyant, in the presence of'. With the following autograph signatures: Sir William Hamilton (1731-1803), Lady Emma Hamilton (1765-1815), Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805); Sir John Thomas Duckworth (1747-1817), Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (1769-1839), John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick (1769-1859), Josiah Nisbet (1780-1830), John Tyson, William Compton and Anne Bottalin, and 2 others” The document sheds light on Nelson's lesser-known side of his character. William Compton ... received "a great many favours and kindnesses" from Nelson, and most especially "the kind interest" taken in sealing his union with a wife who made him "the happiest of mortals". Anne, the aforesaid spouse, said that the admiral's "good heart" had made her "as happy as I can possibly be on this earth" ... Midshipman Parsons remembered those days nostalgically, noting Emma's "graceful form" bending over her harp to bestow "heavenly music" upon the diners on the quarterdeck and the large-decked galley, flush with opera singers, that glided alongside to serenade the sunset of each day'. Tacolneston has an ancient history of which according to the Domesday Book, Edward I granted a weekly market to be held on a Wednesday at the manor of Tacolneston and two annual fairs. The church was rebuilt in 1503 and is dedicated to All Saints. The earliest view of Tacolneston is a print of 1781 when it belonged to Knipe Gobbet Esq. John Theodore Heins (1697-1756) was a painter whose work, at his best, shows detail of an exceptionally high quality. His portraits of Anna Maria Kett nee Phillips and her husband Henry Kett, painted in 1741, are exceptional and evidence that he had the ability to portray a likeness on par with some of the best portraitists in England at the time. Heins appears to have originated in Germany but moved to the UK and settled in Norwich around 1720. From 1720 to his death in 1756, Heins built up a fine reputation as a portrait painter and painted many members of prominent Norfolk families right up to his last year. He was commissioned in 1732 to paint a portrait of the Mayor of Norwich, Francis Arnam and also the previous year's Mayor Robert Marsh...
    Category

    18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like
  • Portrait of a Gentleman
    Located in New York, NY
    Circle of Jacques-Louis David (French, 18th Century) Provenance: Private Collection, Buenos Aires Exhibited: “Art of Collecting,” Flint Institute of Art, Flint, Michigan, 23 November 2018 – 6 January 2019. This vibrant portrait of young man was traditionally considered a work by Jacques-Louis David, whose style it recalls, but to whom it cannot be convincingly attributed. Rather, it would appear to be by a painter in his immediate following—an artist likely working in France in the first decade of the nineteenth century. Several names have been proposed as the portrait’s author: François Gérard, Louis Hersent, Anne-Louis Girodet (Fig. 1), Theodore Gericault, and Jean-Baptiste Wicar, among others. Some have thought the artist Italian, and have proposed Andrea Appiani, Gaspare Landi...
    Category

    18th Century Old Masters Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Portrait of a Lady with a Chiqueador
    Located in New York, NY
    Provenance: Torres Family Collection, Asunción, Paraguay, ca. 1967-2017 While the genre of portraiture flourished in the New World, very few examples of early Spanish colonial portraits have survived to the present day. This remarkable painting is a rare example of female portraiture, depicting a member of the highest echelons of society in Cuzco during the last quarter of the 17th century. Its most distinctive feature is the false beauty mark (called a chiqueador) that the sitter wears on her left temple. Chiqueadores served both a cosmetic and medicinal function. In addition to beautifying their wearers, these silk or velvet pouches often contained medicinal herbs thought to cure headaches. This painting depicts an unidentified lady from the Creole elite in Cuzco. Her formal posture and black costume are both typical of the established conventions of period portraiture and in line with the severe fashion of the Spanish court under the reign of Charles II, which remained current until the 18th century. She is shown in three-quarter profile, her long braids tied with soft pink bows and decorated with quatrefoil flowers, likely made of silver. Her facial features are idealized and rendered with great subtly, particularly in the rosy cheeks. While this portrait lacks the conventional coat of arms or cartouche that identifies the sitter, her high status is made clear by the wealth of jewels and luxury materials present in the painting. She is placed in an interior, set off against the red velvet curtain tied in the middle with a knot on her right, and the table covered with gold-trimmed red velvet cloth at the left. The sitter wears a four-tier pearl necklace with a knot in the center with matching three-tiered pearl bracelets and a cross-shaped earing with three increasingly large pearls. She also has several gold and silver rings on both hands—one holds a pair of silver gloves with red lining and the other is posed on a golden metal box, possibly a jewelry box. The materials of her costume are also of the highest quality, particularly the white lace trim of her wide neckline and circular cuffs. The historical moment in which this painting was produced was particularly rich in commissions of this kind. Following his arrival in Cuzco from Spain in the early 1670’s, bishop Manuel de Mollinedo y Angulo actively promoted the emergence of a distinctive regional school of painting in the city. Additionally, with the increase of wealth and economic prosperity in the New World, portraits quickly became a way for the growing elite class to celebrate their place in society and to preserve their memory. Portraits like this one would have been prominently displayed in a family’s home, perhaps in a dynastic portrait gallery. We are grateful to Professor Luis Eduardo Wuffarden for his assistance cataloguing this painting on the basis of high-resolution images. He has written that “the sober palette of the canvas, the quality of the pigments, the degree of aging, and the craquelure pattern on the painting layer confirm it to be an authentic and representative work of the Cuzco school of painting...
    Category

    17th Century Old Masters Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 17th century By Neapolitan maestro San Vincenzo Ferreri Oil on canvas
    Located in Milano, Lombardia
    “Timete Deum et date Illi honorem quia venit hora iudicii Eius” (Fear the Lord and honour Him, for the hour of His judgement has come): the passage from John's Apocalypse (chapter 14...
    Category

    17th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 16th Century by Bernardino Detti Face of Christ Oil on Canvas
    Located in Milano, Lombardia
    Dimensions: 41 x 32 cm without frame - 47 x 55.5 cm with frame Antique box frame made of solid wood and walnut burl. Publications: unpublished The painting by Bernardino Detti (14...
    Category

    16th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 18th Century European Portrait of a Child Saint John the Baptist
    Located in SANTA FE, NM
    18th Century European Portrait of a Child Saint John the Baptist Oil on Canvas 19 x 14 1/4 inches This lovely and sensitively painting has been examined by a professional restorer w...
    Category

    18th Century Old Masters Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • 18th Century English School Portrait of a young girl, half length
    Located in Harkstead, GB
    A charming portrait of a young girl presented in the original, hand carved giltwood frame. Circle of John Opie (1761-1807) Portrait of a young girl, half length With old label to t...
    Category

    18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

Recently Viewed

View All