Angelica Kauffmann

Swiss, 1741-1807

BiographyRemembered as a Neo-Classical painter of historical and mythological narratives, Angelica Kauffmann (1741 -1807) was also a well-known female portrait painter and skilled printmaker. Born in Coire, Switzerland and the student of her father Joseph Johann Kauffmann, she studied Renaissance and Baroque art and architecture in Italy before moving to London in 1766. In 1768 she became one of two female founding members of the London Royal Academy and subsequently led a very successful painting career that included executing interior decorative designs for the architect Robert Adam and others. Kauffmann, an extremely educated artist, upon returning to Rome in 1781 established a renowned salon attended by scholars and other artists. Praised by her close friend Johan W. Goethe as a “woman of truly enormous talent”, she was one of the three most important woman painters of the 18th century, along with Elisabeth Vigee Lebrun and Rosalba Carriera. Her paintings and etchings are on display in many of the best art museums throughout the world, including the British Museum, London, and Metropolitan Museum, NY.

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