Angelica Kauffmann Biography - Assignment Example

Angelica Kauffmann I. Angelica Kauffmann’s Biography A. Her place of birth B. Her early artistic influences C. How she harnessed her talent II. Kauffman’s Rise to Fame A. Her artistic genre 1. neo-classicism B. Her famous patrons 1. the British Royal Family 2. prominent society figures C. Her famous works 1. portraits of influential persons 2. annual exhibits at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculptures III. Kauffman’s Legacy to Arts History A. History painting 1. her major contributions 2. literary works on her life Thesis Statement Neo-classical painter Angelica Kauffman had made a distinct mark in the male-dominated art movement prevalent during the mid 18th century to the end of the 19th century. Angelica Kauffmann’s Biography Angelica Kauffmann was born at Chur in Graubünden, Switzerland, on 30 October, 1741. However, grew up in Schwarzenberg in Vorarlberg, Austria, her family’s original home. Her father was Joseph Johann Kauffmann, and her mother, Cleophea Lutz. The precocious Angelica had her early education under the tutelage of her father who was relatively poor, but a skilled painter who often traveled around for his works. He was apparently very successful in teaching young Angelica. On the other hand, she rapidly acquired several languages from her mother. Angelica also read incessantly, and manifested her gifts in music. According to Sortais (1910): Angelica showed a great aptitude for music and singing, and some of her fathers friends strongly urged her to give up painting, but in vain. This episode in her life she has represented in a picture, showing herself, between Painting and Music, bidding farewell to Music. There was no question it was in painting that she showed much progress. And before she even completed her twelfth year, she had become a notability, with bishops and nobles for her sitters. The bishop of Milan summoned her to paint his portrait. Due to her immense talent and personal charms, Francis the III of Este, Duke of Modena and Governor of Milan, declared himself her protector. Also, Cardinal Roth invited her to Constance and commissioned her to paint his portrait (Sortais 1910). Kauffman lost her father in 1782; and in 1795, her husband. These blows to her personal life did not deter her to continue with her passion in painting and continued at intervals to contribute to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, the academy’s purpose of which is to professionalize the artists working for the French court and give them a stamp of approval, her last exhibit being in 1797. She has produced a few of her works after this time. On a fateful day, November 5, 1807, she died in Rome. She was honored by a wonderful funeral under the direction of Canova, an Italian sculptor who became famous for his marble sculptures. Numerous prominent personalities were in attendance during her funeral procession, following her to her tomb, including the entire Academy of St. Luke, several ecclesiastics and virtuosi, with two of her pictures carried in procession. Kauffman’s Rise to Fame Kauffman was an advocate of neo-classicism in her works. What neo-classicism depends on most fundamentally is a consensus about a body of work that has achieved canonic status, or that which asserts a compendium of the greatest works of artistic merit (“Neoclassicism,” 2009). However, Kauffman’s forte was the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during that era—history painting. Her close liaisons with Sir Joshua Reynolds, an important and influential 18th century English painter, enabled her to promote her works to a community who was more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes. While in Venice traveling with her father, she met Lady Wentworth, the wife of the ambassador, who asked her to come with her to London. This opened doors for her. The English society accorded her special treatment, including receiving special favors from the Royal Family. One of her first works was a portrait of David Garrick—an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century. From 1769 until 1782, she displayed her works on annual exhibits at the Royal Academy, with as many as seven works of art at a time, generally classic or allegorical subjects. It was 1778 in one of these exhibits that she did what was regarded as one of her best works, Leonardo (Da Vinci) expiring in the Arms of Francis the First,(Frances first Renaissance monarch ). Another feather to her cap was her appointment in 1773 by the Academy, along with other artists, to decorate St. Pauls Cathedral, and together with Biagio Rebecca, she also painted the Academys old lecture room at Somerset House. According to Eliot (1871), during Kauffman’s later years in Rome, she made friends with numerous prominent personalities that included Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German writer and polymath, who remarked that he worked harder and accomplished more than any artist he knew, yet always restive she wanted to do more (Goethes Italian Journey 1786-1788) and lived for 25 years with much of her old prestige. Kauffman’s Significance to Arts History Culled from an online article, “Category: History Painting, 2009” history painting it is defined as: The painting of scenes with narrative content from classical history, Christian history, and mythology, as well as depicting the historical events of the near past. These include paintings with religious, mythological, historical, literary, or allegorical subjects--they embodied some interpretation of life or conveyed a moral or intellectual message. The historical events chosen would be iconographic, not only depicting important events, but ones of particular significance to the painters society, as for instance, the signing of the declaration of independence in American history painting. The event, if suitable, does not need to have actually occurred, and artists have frequently taken great liberties with historical facts in order to portray the message desired. Kauffman’s masterpieces were mostly history paintings, in which she showed great talent. Her works include Miranda and Ferdinand in The Tempest in 1782, based on a play by William Shakespeare; Venus Convinces Helen to Go with Paris in 1790; Death of Alcestis, a princess in Greek mythology, date unknown; A Sleeping Nymph Watched by a Shepherd, about 1780; Iphigenia in Tauris, with Goethe himself depicted in the painting as Orestes. Being once considered as the grand genre in the hierarchy of art genres of the period, history painting was considered the dominant form of academic painting (the painting that came from the various national academies) in the 19th century, in particular, but also in the post-revolutionary France as well. That being stated, not only was it tough to be in the field as it was for male painters, but more for so for females. It had been widely believed that at the time, female painters did not have access to male models. Thus, Kauffman’s male figures were thought to look like masculine women. However, having done several acclaimed masterpieces, her talent was in no way inferior. A testament to how her works withstood the test of time, some of these can still be viewed in various places worldwide. Art collectors treasure them as well, especially the numerous engravings from her designs done by artists of this genre. Charles Wilson Peale, an American artist, patriot and founder of a major American art dynasty had named his children after great European painters, including Angelica Kauffman Peale. Literary works by famous authors have used Kauffman’s life as the basis for their stories, most notably a biography in 1810. This same book was used as the basis of a romance in 1838, and prompted a novel entitled Miss Angel to be published in 1875. Years after Kauffman’s demise, her mark of a great talent had remained embedded in people’s consciousness. References Eliot, George (2004) [1871]. Note by editor of 2004 edition, Gregory Maertz at link. ed. Middlemarch. Broadview Press. pp. 710. < http://books.google.com/ books?vid=ISBN1551112337&id=4MopnRJ-HmMC&pg=PA710&lpg= PA710&sig= 4nAO63zmLS9Ua-x0mevpZA7kSIY> Sortais, Gaston. "Angelica Kauffmann." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 12 Nov. 2009 . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-classicism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Academy_of_Painting_and_Sculpture http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canova http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:History_paintings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I_of_France http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_painting Read More