Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807) settled in Rome in 1782, having already established herself as one of the 18th century’s best-regarded artists.
In 1768 she had become a founding member of the new Royal Academy of Arts in London; with Mary Moser she was one of only two women RAs until the 20th century.
In the Eternal City she became a leading portraitist of well-to-do visitors passing through as part of their Grand Tour.
Famous for her treatment of stories with female protagonists, instead of vignettes from Scripture Kauffman preferred to look to the classics for much of her inspiration, including the tales of the Classical muses. She often painted women in these settings, including Emma, Lady Hamilton (Horatio Nelson’s famous mistress, and the mother of his daughter, Horatia) as Comedy. Among her output were also several self-portraits.
With her focus on the Classical genre, she is not well-known for her work on religious themes; a rare and late exception, Christ and the Samaritan Woman of 1796 (pictured) forms part of a new exhibition dedicated to Kauffman’s work in the Sackler Galleries, high up in the rafters at London’s Royal Academy of Arts. Along with her treatment of the story of David and Nathan, it was carried behind her coffin after she died in Rome in 1807.
Kauffman was buried in Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, just along from the Piazza di Spagna, and around the corner f rom the old offices of Propaganda Fide. Described by one of her contemporaries as “the most cultivated woman in Europe”, her obsequies were directed by Canova, and based on those of Raphael. Her works now gathered in London f rom across Europe speak of her absolute command of her chosen field.
<em>Angelica Kauffman is at the Royal Academy of Arts until June 30.</em>
<strong><strong>This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of the <em>Catholic Herald</em>. To subscribe to our award-winning, thought-provoking magazine and have independent and high-calibre counter-cultural Catholic journalism delivered to your door anywhere in the world click</strong> <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/subscribe/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">here</mark></a>.</strong>
