Angelica Kauffmann, R.A.

Probably John Crosbie Graves, Ireland;

Probably his sale, Dublin, Littledale, 8 April 1835, lot 58 ("Angelica Kauffmann, Portrait of a Girl, with a Cat in her arms");

Duke of Norfolk (as Sir Joshua Reynolds, according to a label on the verso);

Northbrook Collection;

With Norbert Fischman Gallery, London, 1958 (as Reynolds);

Where acquired by the grandmother of the present collectors.

This newly rediscovered work by Angelica Kauffmann offers a tender portrayal of a young girl cradling a cat in her arms. Celebrated for her refined Neoclassical sensibility, Kauffmann here eschews allegory or grand narrative in favor of a moment of pure affection. The child’s softly illuminated face and cascading curls are painted with exquisite attention to texture and tone, while the cat—wrapped in a swathe of cloth—returns the viewer’s gaze with a quiet alertness. Evoking a mood of innocence and quiet domesticity, this intimate work exemplifies Kauffmann’s ability to infuse sentiment with subtle elegance, reinforcing her reputation as one of the most gifted painters of her era.

One of the most influential women of the eighteenth century, Kauffmann holds a place of particular importance in European art history. A talented musician, as well as one of the first professional female artists, she was both a brilliant history painter and portraitist. Swiss by birth, she was hailed as a child prodigy, trained in Italy, and moved to England in 1766 to pursue a career in painting. In London she established a close friendship with Sir Joshua Reynolds. With his support, she became one of only two female founding members of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768. Fluent in English, French, Italian and German, her charm, wit, intelligence, and skill attracted much attention, and she was highly sought after by many of the foremost connoisseurs of the day, including members of the Royal family. In 1781, following her marriage to the Italian decorative painter Antonio Zucchi, she returned to Rome where her studio became a popular stop for fashionable visitors on the grand tour, including artists, writers, aristocrats and dealers. Her clients included many of the crowned heads of Europe, such as Catherine the Great of Russia, and she was close friends with international luminaries such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Antonio Canova, and Sir William Hamilton.