2011 Artist Blog - Entry #22

Children With A Bird's Nest And Flowers, Oil Painting on Canvas, 61 x 74 cm

Self-portrait, Oil on Canvas, 73.7 × 61 cm

Angelica Kauffman was a painter, born in Switzerland, who lived in the mid XVIII century during Neo-classicism. I accidentally stumbled upon this artist and was completely blown away by her beautiful work that words, especially coming from me, do not do any justice to what she has accomplished in her paintings. From Kauffman's painting of "Children With A Bird's Nest And Flowers", we see a huge influence by Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman artistry, relevant to the time period of what Neoclassic art was all about. In the "Portrait of William Heberden the Younger", we also see that influence - Greek nose, full curvy lips, overall rounded face with puffy cheeks and big eyes (notice the size of the iris and the pupil that almost cover up the entire eyeball). The self-portrait of herself also shows some of these features - idealized big eyes and Greco-Roman nose with the bridge of the nose connecting straight to the forehead. Also idealized, her paintings capture the character of a person being portrayed. I don't think you can mistaken an individual should you see him walking down the street after viewing the portrait. Having no formal training in art, she achieved a lot in becoming a well-known portraitist. Her knowledge of color theory, composition, lighting, shadows, and anatomy is clearly seen in her work, both portraiture and paintings with full-scale figures. Gorgeous treatment of hair and cloth is evident in the works of Kauffman. If I were to become a painter and could have achieved mastery in painting close to hers, I could die a happy man. (word count - 264)

Portrait of William Heberden the Younger, Oil on Canvas, 24.5 x 20.5 in

Portrait of a Lady, Oil on Canvas, 24.5 x 20.5 in