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Lot Essay
Little is known of Michiel Sweerts before his arrival in Rome in 1646, where he established himself as a portrait and genre painter under the patronage of Prince Camillo Pamphili (1622–66), a nephew of Pope Innocent X. He remained in Rome for almost ten years before returning to his birthplace of Brussels in 1655. There he established a drawing academy and presumably produced most of his small printed oeuvre. Sweerts executed 21 prints in his lifetime, 14 of which form the series Diversae facies, a series of portrait etchings designed as teaching aids for his students.
Around 1660 Sweerts moved to Amsterdam, where he became well known for his acts of charity. The remaining years of his life were dedicated to missionary work in Persia and India with the Société des Missions Etrangères. During a missionary expedition to Palestine in 1662 Sweerts's behaviour became erratic and he parted ways with the group. Sweerts continued his mission in Goa, India, where he worked with a group of Portuguese Jesuits and it was there that died in 1664 at the age of 46.
Prints by Sweerts are very rare to the market and to our knowledge no impression of his Self-Portrait has been offered at auction within the last thirty years.
Around 1660 Sweerts moved to Amsterdam, where he became well known for his acts of charity. The remaining years of his life were dedicated to missionary work in Persia and India with the Société des Missions Etrangères. During a missionary expedition to Palestine in 1662 Sweerts's behaviour became erratic and he parted ways with the group. Sweerts continued his mission in Goa, India, where he worked with a group of Portuguese Jesuits and it was there that died in 1664 at the age of 46.
Prints by Sweerts are very rare to the market and to our knowledge no impression of his Self-Portrait has been offered at auction within the last thirty years.