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Angelica's Story

Angelica Kauffman stood out among her peers. An artist in the time of Sir Joshua Reynolds, she was among those that petitioned King George III to create a Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. The Royal Academy received it's Royal Charter in 1765. Kauffman was listed in the Academy's first catalog, published 1769, she was listed with "R.A." after her name. Notably it was an honor given to only two women in that first exhibition Kauffman and Mary Moser

Kauffman was born in Chur, Graubünden, Switzerland on October 30, 1741. Her father was an unsuccessful artist, Johann Josef Kauffmann. He did teach his daughter. Kauffman's upbringing was heavily focused on education. She was extremely well-read and traveled throughout Europe. As a child of twelve she had bishops and the nobility competing to have their portraits painted by her. She spoke and wrote in several languages including English, French, Italian and German.

Her English speaking skills helped her when she lived in Italy. Wealthy English visitors on the "Grand Tour" required a portrait of themselves painted while in Italy. Kauffman became popular and made a mark on the wife of the German Ambassador to Venice; Lady Wentworth. Angelica Kauffman accepted Lady Wentworth's invitation to return with her to England. This friendship opened countless doors for Kauffman she became a favorite artist of the English Royal Family.

The artist's legacy of letters tell much of her and her connections. Among those that remain are exchanges between her and Cornelia Knight and the German poet Friedrich Gottfried Klopstock.

Kauffman painted portraits of fellow artists Benjamin West, Giovanni Piranesi and the German art historian and architect Johann Joachim Winckelmann.

Her work fell somewhat out of favor but is beginning to find popularity again. An exhibition was held in 2007 and was accompanied by this excellent catalog. The letters help learn more about Kauffman and importantly her times.

Being a female she was not able to have male models sit for her without some precautions to protect her reputation. Unfortunately her reputation suffered greatly when she made the mistake of marrying a con artist, who claimed to be Count de Horn, a Swedish nobleman. She obtained a divorce but suffered a backlash.

Her greatest supporter was her father who encouraged her throughout his life time and did what he could to help her establish a career using her talent in what was a male dominated field.

Her salon attracted some of the intellectuals of the day; notably Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Her life story and art work are explored in Angelica Kauffman : A Woman of Immense Talent, edited by Tobias G. Natter. It is an accompanyment piece to the exhibition that Natter curated at the Vorarlberger Landesmuseum, Bregenz and Angelika Kauffmann Museum, Schwarzenberg.