Portrait of Angelica Kauffmann, RA (1741-1807) painter
Portrait of Angelica Kauffmann, RA (1741-1807) painter
Oil on canvas. This portrait depicts the artist Angelica Kauffmann, apparently taking a pause while painting. Although executed in oil, its light chalky tones resemble pastel or gouache, materials with which the painter Daniel Gardner is more commonly associated.
The identification of Kauffmann as the sitter is has been accepted since at least since the late 19th century, when the portrait was first engraved. The work may have been painted in around 1773, while Gardner was working in the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds, a friend and admirer of Kauffmann.
Born in Switzerland, Angelica Kauffmann studied in Florence and Rome before settling in London in 1766. She enjoyed considerable success and became a founder and the first woman member of the Royal Academy of Arts. At 39 she married the Venetian painter Antonio Zucchi (1726-1795) and, in 1782, the couple settled in Rome. There, she continued to paint and ran a Salon. Her funeral in 1807 was arranged by her friend Antonio Canova (1757-1822), the Italian sculptor.
