Angelica Kauffmann exhibition at Royal Academy highlights pioneering female artist

The Royal Academy of Arts in London is hosting a major exhibition dedicated to Angelica Kauffmann (1741–1807), the Swiss-born painter who became one of only two female founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Kauffmann challenged the male monopoly on history painting and moved beyond erotic imagination aesthetics, blending classical and neoclassical tendencies to legitimize women's social roles. The exhibition features authoritative portraits, female figures, and self-referential works, including her portrait of Johann Joachim Winckelmann and the painting that made her name in England, that of actor David Garrick. Later works, such as 'Portrait of the Royal Family of Naples' (1783) and 'Christ and the Samaritan Women' (1796), show a shift from static portraiture to capturing single moments in a surreal, mystical aura. Kauffmann's portraits of influential people emphasized female protagonists and deviated from historical narrative conventions. The exhibition underscores her role in advancing women's social standing through art.