Teller of Truth: Angelica Kauffman @ Royal Academy of Arts, London

Cultures: Arts Reviews and Views by Susan Tailby

4 min readJun 16, 2024

Self-portrait with Bust of Minerva, c. 1780–84. The artist compares herself with a bust of the head of the goddess Minerva. The artist bursts forth from the shadows and from the canvas as she sits facing us in a sheeny white satin or silk dress, crossed over the bust, with long tight sleeves and an overgarment of tawny orange, trimmed with brown fur and puffed sleeves. She holds her drawing pad and stylus ready to make art. Her brown hair is in a large puff with a white matching cap on it.

One of the first female Royal Academicians, though she couldn’t appear in person in their collective portrait, due to social mores of the day. It was even shocking that she was commercially selling her work — and making a profit, a successful reputation. However, like Artemisia Gentileschi, she did it any way!

Or if you like it, Composition, 1778–80, aka thinking, talented woman at work! A woman weilds architectural design tools at a time when women couldn’t become professional architects — radical indeed! Her head is on her hand, not in melancholy like ‘Poor Maria’, but in thinking and planning.

Phenomenally talented from a young age, she could have been a professional musician and singer, Angelica Kauffman turned to art instead. Her portraits are striking because they’re so real, the textiles look touchable, and for ladies, she can turn you into a muse, or a classical matron, with a bit of sparkle. The textiles are not the only real looking thing, the women are too. In addition, they all have excellent hairstyles — so a warning, this exhibition will cause you to go home and start experimenting with hair up and plaited up dos!

Portrait of the Impromptu Virtuoso Teresa Bandettini Landucci of Lucca, 1794. Turning the singer into a classical muse, she gestures in song, in a white dress, with a blue shawl draped over one arm and a blucked brown belt. Gold trims the circle neck and tops of the loose sleeves. The singer turns her head, brown curled hair flowing. Sheets of music are at the back of the picture. We have caught the singer in action!

Domenica Morghen as the Muse of Tragedy and Maddalena Volpato as the Muse of Comedy or Tragedy and Comedy, 1791. Two young women become muses. Not looking very tragic, one sits in golden drapery facing us and holding a Greek tragic mask. Her hair has a fashionable ‘Turkish’ turban. Standing is the muse of comedy, because comedy equals wearing a wreath of ivy leaves in your hair (or perhaps laurel!) Draped in deep salmon pink, she has a flowing swag of material trailing/kicking out behind her.

Then she (fashionably then and now) causes us to think of Romans in a powerful work utilising shadows, and by reversing roles with a stoic, centrally focused woman and an emoting, mourning man.

Cleopatra Adorning the Tomb of Mark Antony, c. 1769–70. From the shadows, three women in flowing classical robes and with elaborately plaited up dos, hang garlands of flowers over a large classical urn tomb. One in red kneels holding flowers. One at the back holding a torch to cast light over them twists towards them. Another woman, beside the one in red, hangs a garland over he front of the urn. The women are both hidden and emerge from the shadows. The other two women are in white or cream.

Death of Alcestis (1790). To break a curse, a woman dies in the place of her husband. Draped in red on a couch, a woman rests her head on her husband’s shoulder as he leans in to her and cradles her tenderly, resting his head on hers. Their children reach towards their mother, honouring her and kissing her hand. Horrified servants and family members grieve around them in muddier coloured robes.

Ulysseus on the island of Cerces, 1793. which is a real ‘it me’ moment. Surrounded by servants bringing food and drink, Ulysseus dines in style, He turns to look at the next figure, which is Cerces, his host, revealing herself by removing a gauzy pale veil. A yellow robed figute at the frony fills a joy from a larger vessel. Three servants in pinks and blue robes carry in sustenance on their heads and hold up food and fruit to offer their guest. Ulysseus is moustached, which is surprising.

Torn between the muses of art and music herself. there are impressive drapery and flying draperies going on. She can do literary themes and history paintings too! Look at her cuffs — the sleeves and cuffs are particularly impressive in their flowing softness and floaty delicacy. Marvel too — she was 23 when she painted a full-length Penelope at her loom waiting for Odysseus to return, dog at her feet.

Self-portrait of the Artist Hesitating Between the Arts of Music and Painting (1794). Imitating the ‘Three Graces’, Angelica Kauffman is in white in the middle. Music in red, holding a scroll of music, with an impressive laurel wreath on her head, tries to pull Angelica back into the temple of music. Meanwhile, the muse of art (in blue with a whirling red sash), impatiently thrusts an easel into her hands and gestures towards her temple on a hill. Angelica looks at music, but gestures to art.

Poor Maria (1777). A tremendously popular and en vogue sentimental literary heroine of the time. Poor Maria is encountered in Laurence Sterne’s Sentimental Journey of France and Italy and Tristram Shandy. She is a mournful young woman, found sobbing on a river bank, with a pet goat and flute! The goat has become a firmly leashed spaniel here. She is in white, head on hand and eyes gloomily downcast. She is melancholy, letting everything pass her by.

Armida Begs Rinaldo in Vain not to Leave Her (1776). Having already encountered Rinaldo in the enchanted garden, Armida (with wonderfully complex blonde plaited up do), kneels before Rinaldo trying to distract him from the goddess waving her swag at him from a chariot in the distance. He steps to go — the cad! His red cloak wrapped around him and his head corkscrewing. His soldiers gossip in shock about the scenes before them. They look like stagey Romans. Rinaldo what are you doing?!!!!

Rinaldo and Armida, c.1772, (The enchanted garden). In contrast to the shameful behaviour above, Rinaldo is spell-bound by a white clad Armida and the garland of flowers she dangles before him. He’s set aside his stagey Roman red clothes to gaze up at her, spell-bound and in adoration. A definite feeling cute moment! He’s going to pull her towards him, clasping passionately.

Playfully she shows classical works, as well herself in Swiss traditional folk dress, before moving on to paint the great and the good — Garrick as himself, Joshua Reynolds, Queen Charlotte with her eldest son, as a patron of the arts, (though this work is now lost) and rondels for the ceiling for Somerset House. These were the ‘Elements of Art’ and show women at work creating — Invention, Design, Composition and Colouring.

Portrait of David Garrick, 1764. As if we’ve caught him off-guard and relaxed, he sits astride a wooden ladder-backed chair, holding the top. He turns, facing us, in a dark red sit and with impressively flowing white cuffs. We’re meant to be seeing the real man here, he’s himself not on show… or acting. It’s radical because this is a woman artist looking at a man.

Self-portrait in the Traditional Costume of the Bregenz Forest, 1781. A young Swiss woman with plaited and lopped dark blonde hair wears an angled large brimmed black hat with a large black bow. She wears a black square necked bodice over the hints of a white smock blouse. Loops of red and green ribbon and perhaps a strip of fur trim the bodice. She has a thin blue ribbon over her hair under the hat.

I loved spotting her signature, such as one along the fringed drapery of a curtain in a comic muse painting of Emma, Lady Hamilton. The date of painting is added too! Then there was Jesus talking to the woman at the well. Uniquely Kauffman gives us Jesus as a safe man, both talking to and with a woman. There’s real dialogue going on here and real listening.

Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well, 1796. A European white Jesus and Samiritan woman sit down for a conversation at the well. They are both in red. Jesus is both talking with and listening to a woman, who looks incredulous, gesturing widely, and very real. A garment over Jesus lower legs neuters him, but also (in covering him) shows that he’s a safe and trustworthy man, he’s not another husband or exploiter. Also he’s sitting down so enjoy Kauffman’s mastery of draping!

Portrait of Emma, Lady Hamilton as a Muse of Comedy, 1791. We see the vivacity and captivating qualities of Lady Hamilton’s attitudes here. She poses, mouth slightly parted in a smile (or a laugh) in a white robe with a gold sash, the sash is turned to reveal a small rose pattern on the other side. In one raised hand is a laughing classical Greek mask, held above her head. Her other hand pushes aside a green, gold fringed curtain, signed by the artist. Her brown hair curls over her shoulders.

Henrietta Maria Hill becomes Erato, muse of love poetry. Complemented by her husband full of Van Dyck swagger.

Henrietta Maria Hill, later Brundell-Bruce as Ertao, Muse of Love, 1795. Turned to one side in a white dress with a large sash and piled up curls of sark hair, she holds a lyre harp with a circlet wreath of white flowers and pink roses. Her husband fell in love with this image, with the artistry behind it and wanted his own companion version.

Portrait of Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury (1773–1856), 1795. Husband of Henrietta Maria Hill. He turns to face her, (Rembrandt/Frans Hals style). She’s a muse, he’s in full swagger with a pointed lace collar and a black suit, with big puffed sleeves slashed with blue. The lace is delicately done as are his puffs of curled hair. Enjoy too the wrinkles on his top. He stands in a classical landscape with a red curtain draped/swagged to one side.

Then there was the tender portrait of antiquarian and scholar Johann Joachim Winckelmann, lost in thoughts about ‘the three graces’

Angelica Kauffman, Portrait of Johann Joachim Winckelmann, 1764. From the shadows a man with shaved head stares to the side of the painting, looking in thought. He holds a feather quill in one hand, both his hands are resting on a pile of books. His gaze is intent and considered.

I can’t find an image of it, but there was a wonderful portrait of a Polish count who designed London theatres. His teal coat was a luxuriant colour, but his gold waistcoat was tactile as were the embellished buttons. Loved too the hints of buttons on his coat and frogging decoration. He proudly displayed his theatre design plans. Couldn’t stop looking — just loved the details!

The meteoric rise of Angelica Kauffman RA | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts

Historian Jenny Uglow tells the story of how Angelica Kauffman became a founding Member of the RA and one of the most…

www.royalacademy.org.uk

Images are used to illustrate the exhibition and are not the property of the writer, but of the Royal Academy of Arts and the intellectual property of Angelica Kauffman, her estate and collectors. June 2024.

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Teller of Truth: Angelica Kauffman @ Royal Academy of Arts, London

The meteoric rise of Angelica Kauffman RA | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts

Historian Jenny Uglow tells the story of how Angelica Kauffman became a founding Member of the RA and one of the most…

Written by Cultures: Arts Reviews and Views by Susan Tailby

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