Angelica Kauffmann

Angelica Kauffman (1741 – 1807) was born in Switzerland.  Her father, also a painter, recognised his daughter’s artistic talents from an early age and taught her himself as the family journeyed between Austria, Switzerland and Italy. In Italy, she established a reputation as a brilliant artist and was elected a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. In 1766, Kauffman moved to London where she established a close friendship with the British painter Joshua Reynolds and developed her reputation as a great painter of ancient historical scenes.

When the Royal Academy of Arts was established by King George III in 1768, she and Mary Moser were the only two women of thirty four invited to become founder members. As in most other areas of life in the 1700s, male and female members were not treated equally. However, Angelica Kauffman gained influential status within the Academy. In 1775 she refused to allow a painting – The Conjurer by Nathaniel Hone – to be displayed in the Summer Exhibition, believing it reflected rumours of an affair between her and Joshua Reynolds.

In this self-portrait, Angelica Kauffmann projects her identity primarily as an artist, rather than a fashionable woman of society, by painting herself wearing ‘classical’ dress and holding a portfolio and ‘porte-crayon’, containing her charcoal.

Did you know..?

Angelica Kauffman was the last female member of the Royal Academy until the painter Annie Swynnerton was elected in 1922.

Use our Classroom resources to investigate this object and the Arts in the Age of Revolution further.

Highlights:

• Using objects, artworks and other sources to find out about the past
• Using museum collections as creative starters

And much more…