Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying art medium made with pigment and a drying-oil binder that allows extended working time, smooth blending, and layered application.
Painter
Angelica Kauffmann
Angelica Kauffmann was a Swiss Neoclassical painter and Royal Academy founder known for portraits, classical history scenes, and graceful oil paintings.
Angelica Kauffmann quick facts
Kauffmann built a career in London and Rome as a painter of portraits and classical narratives, using carefully prepared figure drawings.
| Born | 1741 · Chur, Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Died | 1807 · Rome, Papal States (now Italy) |
| Nationality | Swiss |
| Movements | Neoclassicism |
| Paint types | Oil Paint · Gouache Paint |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Paper |
| Painting methods | Balanced figure arrangements, smoothly modeled oils, and preparatory chalk drawings on paper tinted with gouache |
| 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 |
| Working materials | One Met study uses black and white chalk over a gray-blue gouache ground on paper |
| Royal Academy | A founding member in London in 1768, alongside Mary Moser |
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
Kauffmann painted portraits and history scenes in oil and used gouache to tone paper before working over it in black and white chalk.
Gouache Paint
Gouache paint is an opaque, water-based art medium made with pigment and a water-soluble binder, drying to a matte finish that can be reactivated with water.
Surface types used
Her major portraits and history paintings were oils on canvas, while paper supported preparatory drawings over a gouache-colored ground.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support, commonly cotton or linen, used for painting and sold either raw or prepared with a compatible ground layer.
Paper
Paper is an absorbent sheet material made from pressed fibers, with weight, sizing, and surface texture controlling moisture tolerance and paint behavior.
Painters similar to Angelica Kauffmann
David also worked in Neoclassical history painting; Ingres extended the same emphasis on carefully organized figures and drawing.
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David was a French Neoclassical painter known for carefully arranged history paintings, precise drawing, and portraits of revolutionary France.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was a French Neoclassical painter known for exacting draftsmanship, polished oil portraits, and historical subjects.