Angelica Kauffmann

1741 - 1807 • Swiss • Painter • Neoclassicist

"Her heroines are herself" - John Henri Fuseli, 18th century

Born in Switzerland, Kauffman spent her early years in Italy, where she studied and copied the old masters. In 1766 she went to England and lived there for 16 years. Despite women's difficulty in enjoying full-fledged participation in the art world, Kauffman was able to work successfully in London along with REYNOLDS and WEST, and was one of two women among founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768. (The other woman, also Swiss, is Mary Moser, 1744-1819). In a portrait of Royal Academy members painted by Johan Zoffany c. 1772, Kauffman's (and Moser's) likeness appears as a picture on the wall, rather than among other members. Because the painting includes a nude male model, it was considered indecorous for females actually to be present. To the historian Griselda POLLOCK this event signals the moment that the distinction "woman artist" was made. That is, men were artists, defining the term, while Kauffman and other females were differentiated from the profession by the modifying term: "women" artists. Kauffman's commissions were mainly for portraits of wealthy PATRONS decorative paintings, and she designed numerous PRINTS for the contemporary market, often after her own paintings. But she also wanted to do HISTORY PAINTING, epic scenes, often with biblical or mythological themes, as these ranked highest on the hierarchical, ACADEMIC scale of importance. Her Zeuxis Selecting Models for His Picture of Helen of Troy (c. 1765), illustrating the legendary anecdote from the life of ZEUXIS, is one such work. History Paintings required knowledge of both important subjects and techniques (e.g., anatomy and PERSPECTIVE) that women were not ordinarily trained in. Moreover, History Paintings were usually painted on large canvases, also outside the "feminine" realm. Kauffman was highly accomplished, and when her scenes included women, she often, as FUSELI remarks in the quotation above, painted her own portrait as one of the historic figures. She does so most forthrightly in The Artist in the Character of Design Listening to the Inspiration of Poetry (1782). Here we see her persona absorbed into that of the Muse, a clear sign of how strong her identification with her profession was, despite the academy's formal differentiation.