The Academicians of the Royal Academy, 1771-1772. Johann Zoffany (1733/4-1810). Oil on canvas, 101.1 x 147.5 cm. The Royal Collection, Painted for George III, RCIN 400747.
Angelica Kauffmann was an accomplished artist in her own right. As a founding member of the Royal Academy, she cultivated a uniquely feminine style that was both scorned and revered. Yet open a text covering the Academy, and you’re likely to find a paragraph or two on the artist. Despite her success, wealth, patronage, and connections in life, Angelica Kauffmann was largely forgotten after her death in 1807. However, through a close reexamination of the artist’s career and work, one discovers a deeper talent than what history texts gloss over. By analyzing two works by male contemporaneous artists and one of her own self-portraits, I will reconstruct the misinformed identity of Angelica Kauffmann. Contrary to most scholarship on the subject, I will prove how her unique education, style, and patronage shaped her into a female master to be recognized as such. Continue…
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