Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David was a French Neoclassical painter known for arranged history paintings, precise drawing, and portraits of revolutionary France.
Painter
Angelica Kauffmann
Angelica Kauffmann was a Swiss Neoclassical painter and a Royal Academy co-founder, celebrated for portraits, classical history scenes, and graceful oils.
Angelica Kauffmann quick facts
Angelica Kauffmann worked in portraiture and history painting, using oil for finished compositions and watercolor or gouache for studies on paper.
| Full name | Maria Anna Angelika Catharina Kauffmann |
|---|---|
| Born | 1741 · Chur, Switzerland |
| Died | 1807 · Rome, Papal States (now Italy) |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Movements | Neoclassicism |
| Paint types | Oil Paint · Watercolor Paint · Gouache Paint |
| Other media | Black and white chalk in a Met study over a gray-blue gouache ground on paper |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Paper · Copper (small oil paintings) |
| Painting methods | Made preparatory chalk drawings on gouache-tinted paper and smoothly modeled oil paintings |
| Common subjects | Ancient heroes, historical women, portraits, classical mythology, and religious narratives |
| Notable works | Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi, Pointing to Her Children as Her Treasures · Telemachus and the Nymphs of Calypso · The Sorrow of Telemachus · Monsignor Giuseppe Spina |
Sources: The Met: Telemachus and the Nymphs of Calypso, oil on canvas, The Met: Monsignor Giuseppe Spina, oil on canvas, The Met: Study of a Standing Woman, gouache-prepared paper, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza: Angelica Kauffmann.
Paint types used by Angelica Kauffmann
Kauffmann used oil for history paintings and portraits, with watercolor and gouache in paper studies; the examples below separate these roles.
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Oil paint
The Met records Telemachus and the Nymphs of Calypso and The Sorrow of Telemachus as oil on canvas. These large classical narratives document Kauffmann’s use of oil for finished history paintings. Their cataloged medium differs from the watercolor designs and gouache-prepared drawing sheets also present in her practice.
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Watercolor
Kauffmann’s design for Apollo and the Hours combines watercolor with pen and ink, wash, and black chalk. The Met catalog identifies it as a preparatory work on paper, not a finished oil painting. This example documents watercolor as part of her design process and keeps the other drawing media distinct.
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Gouache
For Study of a Standing Woman, Kauffmann prepared the paper with gray-blue gouache before modeling the dress in black and white chalk. The Met identifies gouache as the ground beneath the drawing, rather than a finished opaque painting by itself. This specific use distinguishes it from her oil history paintings.
Sources: The Met: Telemachus and the Nymphs of Calypso, oil on canvas, The Met: The Sorrow of Telemachus, oil on canvas, The Met: Apollo and the Hours design, watercolor over chalk, The Met: Study of a Standing Woman, gouache-prepared paper.
Painting surfaces used by Angelica Kauffmann
Kauffmann painted formal compositions on canvas and made watercolor and gouache studies on paper; the examples connect each support to a recorded work.
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Canvas
The Met records Kauffmann’s classical subjects and portraits, including Telemachus and the Nymphs of Calypso, as oil on canvas. The large textile support carries her finished history paintings, distinct from preparatory drawings on paper. These collection records document canvas directly for several representative works.
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Paper
Kauffmann used paper for designs and figure studies, including the Met’s watercolor design for Apollo and the Hours and Study of a Standing Woman with a gouache ground. These sheets document a preparatory and drawing practice separate from the finished oil paintings on canvas.
Sources: The Met: Telemachus and the Nymphs of Calypso, oil on canvas, The Met: Monsignor Giuseppe Spina, oil on canvas, The Met: Study of a Standing Woman, gouache-prepared paper, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza: Angelica Kauffmann.
Painters similar to Angelica Kauffmann
Jacques-Louis David also painted Neoclassical histories, while Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres emphasized carefully organized figures and precise drawing.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was a French Neoclassical painter known for exacting draftsmanship, polished oil portraits, and historical subjects.