Jacob Ferdinand Voet (Antwerp 1639-1689 Paris)

The Spanish sitter, Luis Antonio Fernandez de Portocarrero, became cardinal under Clement IX in 1669, and can be identified from a print made by Albert Clouwet, after a lost painting ascribed to Baciccio (F. Petrucci, Baciccio. Giovan Battista Gaulli, Rome, 2009, p. 646, no. E49). The present painting is a new addition to Voet's oeuvre and dates to circa 1670, during the Cardinal's visit to Rome on the occasion of the election of the new pope, Clement X. It reflects the influence of Velázquez on Voet's portraits produced at this time.

We are grateful to Dott. Francesco Petrucci for confirming the attribution to Voet, on the basis of photographs, and for his assistance in cataloguing the work (private communication, 9 December 2010).