Image source: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain). View source
Self-Portrait
Angelica Kauffman · Rococo & Neoclassicism
- Artist
- Angelica Kauffman (1741–1807)
- Date
- c. 1770–1775
- Dimensions
- 73.7 x 61 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- National Portrait Gallery, London, United Kingdom
In this self-portrait the Swiss-born painter Angelica Kauffman presents herself at the height of her London fame, dressed in a loose, white classical-style gown with a sash, holding a drawing portfolio and a porte-crayon.
A closer look
Kauffman shows herself not as a fashionable lady but as an artist and intellectual: her simple, timeless costume recalls antiquity, the ideal of Neoclassicism, and the drawing tools assert her profession. Her face is calm and thoughtful, softly lit against a dark background, her gaze directed past the viewer. At the time, women were rarely trained in history painting, considered the highest genre, yet Kauffman excelled in it and was celebrated across Europe.
