He spent his childhood in besieged Paris (the era of religious wars in France). At that time, his father worked at the Louvre and participated in the creation of the Royal Square in the capital; he was called by Henry IV the «artist of the royal stables» and performed many decorative and artisanal works. Simon helped his father, mastered the art very early and at the age of fourteen painted a portrait of a noble lady, moreover, in London. In 1611, Simon was in the retinue of the French embassy in Constantinople, where he painted a portrait of Sultan Ahmed I from memory. Landscapes, oriental costumes, turbans, caravans, Chinese silks, Indian cotton products were forever remembered by the artist. In November 1612, Vue sailed on a galley to Venice, where he studied the paintings of Titian, Veronese (his favorite artist), Tintoretto. At the beginning of 1614, he settled in Rome. He has numerous clients, among them Cardinal Barberini, who will be chosen by the pope under the name of Urban VIII in 1623. The Italian period is also called the «dark period» of the master, because Vue is influenced by «Caravaggism» (Caravaggio himself had already died in 1610), — this period continues with Simon until 1627. In 1626, he married Virginia da Vezzo (1606-1638), a young Roman woman who was his model and pupil, and later a talented artist and mother of his ten children. At the end of 1627, Vouet returned to Paris, received an apartment and a workshop in the Louvre. Since 1630, Vouet has been the King's first artist; he runs the royal tapestry workshop. Numerous orders for murals, decorations and paintings for castles, churches, private houses of the nobility, both in Paris and in country residences, follow. Interestingly, Vouet died in besieged Paris (it was the era of the Fronde) in 1649. His fame faded over time. In the 19th century, it was almost forgotten.