Angelica Kauffman

Written By Kirsty Hill

Angelica Kauffman: Self Portrait, oil on canvas, 1787 

Image Credit: National Trust Images

Who was Angelica Kauffman?

How did an artist referred to in her lifetime as ‘the idol of her indivious profession, the only artist beloved by all the rest’, go on to become a nearly-forgotten name lost to art history?

Known primarily as a history painter, Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807) was also an in-demand portrait artist and even had her own range of merchandise. From relatively humble beginnings in Switzerland, Kauffman built a successful career in both London and Rome, including being commissioned to paint royal portraits and being one of only two women among the founding members of the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

Early Life

Usually known as Angelica Kauffman in English, Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann was born in Switzerland to a Swiss mother and Austrian father. Kauffman’s father, Joseph Johann Kauffman (1707-1782) was a minor painter of murals. He recognised a prodigal talent in his young daughter, and Kauffman trained with her father as the family moved between Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

Her father’s interest and encouragement in developing Kauffman’s talent was important in instigating her success. As art historian Linda Nochlin writes in her pioneering essay Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?, due to the gender roles of the time and the spaces women were permitted to occupy; having a male relative, close male friend or mentor, who was already part of the art world, used to be essentially the only way that a woman could start her career in art.

Kauffman, under her father’s guidance, learnt from the work of the Old Masters, of the current Rococo style and of the nascent Neoclassical movement. Joseph Johann’s championing of his daughter’s talents also benefited him too of course - whilst on their travels, the younger Kauffman made money by selling portraits.

Kauffman spent lots of time in Rome and became a recognised artist and well-liked person. She was elected a member of the Accademia di San Luca - although as a woman, was not officially able to enrol for study there. Her portraits were well received due to their casual and distinctly human style and composition. This was unusual for the 1700s and her work became popular, in contrast to the more stiff, formal portraiture of her contemporaries. Particularly popular with a crowd of British Grand Tourists, Kauffman was persuaded to move to London for her career.

Angelica Kauffman: Self Portrait as a Singer with Sheet Music, oil on canvas, 1753

Image Credit: Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum

London and The Royal Academy

Kauffman arrived in London in 1766. She quickly gained lots of commissions for portraits, including one of Augusta, Princess of Wales, commissioned by the King’s mother. A version of this royal portrait was copied as a mezzotint engraving and distributed in English newspapers, which boosted Kauffman’s reputation and created even more demand for her work.

Angelica Kauffman: Augusta, Duchess of Brunswick (1737-1813) with her son Charles George Augustus (1766-1806) (oil on canvas, 1767)

Image Credit: Royal Collections Trust/© His Majesty King Charles III 2022

Whilst in London, Kauffman also befriended the English portrait painter Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), and their friendship is immortalised in portraits dedicated to one another. This close relationship with Reynolds, along with having royal favour from her commissioned works, enabled Kauffman to be part of the group of 36 founders who successfully petitioned King George III to establish the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768. Artists in London felt that they were behind in relation to lots of European cities who had had academies established for a long time. Kauffman was one of only two female founders, the other being Mary Moser (1744-1819).

Although they were founding members of the Academy, Kauffman and Moser were still excluded from much of the Academy’s scholarly and social activity. Women were excluded from certain meetings and dinners, and were not permitted to attend life drawing classes. This is evident in fellow RA founder Johan Zoffany’s painting The Academicians of the Royal Academy (1771-72). All of the male founding members are present, gathered around a male life model, but Kauffman and Moser are shown as portraits hanging on the wall. Many such depictions of the 36 founders exist in which the two women are sidelined.

Johann Jacob Zoffany, The Academicians of the Royal Academy (oil on canvas, 1771-72)

Image Credit:  Royal Collections Trust/© His Majesty King Charles III 2022

Whilst Moser painted more traditionally feminine subjects, Kauffman favoured history painting. These paintings depict subject matter often lifted from biblical, mythological or historical narratives, represented in a neoclassical style referencing ancient Greek and Roman ideals of harmony and idealism. History painting was considered a ‘man’s subject’ and often depicted men as heroes and women as victims, damsels or seductresses. Kauffman infused her work with feminine power and a more intimate look at women’s experiences. 

For example, Cleopatra is typically painted as beautiful, tragic, and usually nude; poised to kill herself after discovering Mark Anthony is dead. Kauffman’s depiction of Cleopatra gives the queen grace and dignity - she is dressed in white robes, and lays flowers on her husband’s tomb.

Angelica Kauffman: Cleopatra Decorating the Tomb of Mark Anthony, oil on canvas

Image Credit: © Burghley House Preservation Trust Limited

There were practical as well as ideological reasons for Kauffman’s decision to depict women this way in her history paintings. Remember that women were not permitted to attend life drawing classes with male models, and so Kauffman lacked a model to study from.

Kauffman the Businesswoman

At heart, Kauffman was a history painter; but, as a savvy businesswoman, kept up her business in portrait commissions as well. She also capitalised on a new, innovative method of reproduction, developed by engineer Matthew Boulton (1728-1809). Mechanical painting was a process of reproducing paintings using engraving, hand-finishing them with colour to look like oil paintings. These reproductions were a more affordable and available way for people to buy art for their homes, and Kauffman produced several originals to be reproduced and sold. Copies of her work appeared on prints, embroideries and earthenware, but Kauffman never had a hand in making these herself except for making the original artwork to be copied.

Despite being an accomplished and renowned artist in her lifetime, these commercial reproductions of her work were, by some people, assumed posthumously to be the main body of Kauffman’s work. ‘Lower’ art forms - those which exist in the more domestic and craft spheres, like Kauffman’s merchandise - are traditionally assumed to be fields reserved for women, whilst men got on with more serious and grand fine art. This assumption about Kauffman’s work is an example of why her reputation did not remain as prominent as her male contemporaries into later centuries. 

Return to Italy

Kauffman returned to Rome in 1781. There were several reasons for this. Firstly, Italy was more accepting of women artists compared to the sexism and exclusion Kauffman faced in England. Secondly, there was growing competition for portrait commissions in London, and Italians had a greater appreciation for history painting.

Thirdly, Kauffman had married during her time in London. Her husband, Count Frederick de Horn, was not what he first appeared. Though there are no exact sources to confirm this, It’s alleged that her husband, who was not really a count and actually named Frederick Brandt, was using a false identity to gain citizenship in Britain, and that he was a fraud and a bigamist. Kauffman’s royal connections and good standing meant that she could distance herself from her husband without attracting scandal, but she was not free to remarry until Brandt died in 1781. Her second husband, Antonio Zucchi (1726-1795) was a Venetian artist and had been a friend to the Kauffman family whilst also residing in London.

Kauffman - who kept her maiden name throughout both of her marriages - and Zucchi, moved to Rome together and she set up a studio. The studio quickly became both a commercial success and a popular tourist destination. Zucchi assisted by helping her manage the business and finances, allowing her to devote more time to painting. Kauffman remained the rest of her life in Italy and continued to paint well into her later years.

Angelica Kauffman: Self Portrait (Oil on Canvas, 1800) Private Collection

Legacy

Kauffman died in 1807 and it is testament to her reputation that elements of her well-attended funeral were modelled after the funeral of Raphael. Five different Italian academies marched in procession, and two of what were considered her best works were displayed for the congregation. A bust of her was also displayed at the Pantheon after her funeral. Kauffman was well respected all throughout her career, and was recognised as a talented painter and a good businesswoman.

So how can such a skilled artist in possession of such resilience, resourcefulness and reputation have been near enough forgotten about in the intervening centuries since her death?

Not only did women in the 1700s face career challenges in life, they also faced them in death. Kauffman’s subversive, revolutionary approach to painting was perhaps looked on disfavourably from a male perspective after her death. We know that a large portion of her work went unrecognised and underappreciated, overlooked in favour of the decorative homewares that reproduced her original artwork. Male attitudes and opinions about art have taken up most of the space in the art historical canon and art historical discourse for centuries, which is a large part of the reason why Kauffman’s legacy has been sidelined in favour of male artists.

It is good news then, that we’re seeing a change in these attitudes and a resurgence in popularity and conversation around Kauffman, her work and her impact. 2024 sees Kauffman’s work appear in two key exhibitions: Angelica Kauffman at the Royal Academy and Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920 at Tate Britain. 

Part 2 of this series on Kauffman will explore some of her key works in more detail, and how she used colour in an innovative, revolutionary way that influenced artists into the twentieth century.

Sources

Cover Image

Self-portrait of the Artist Hesitating between the Arts of Music and Painting, 1794

https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/960079

Kirsty Hill
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