Self-Portrait

Kauffmann painted this self-portrait in 1784, three years after leaving London for Rome following her second marriage to the Venetian painter Antonio Zucchi. By this date she was among the most famous artists in Europe, celebrated across Britain, Italy, and Germany, and elected to the academies of Rome, Florence, and Venice. The self-portrait presents her as an established master, confident in her artistic identity, shown with the tools of her profession in a convention that asserted professional status as well as personal identity. Self-portraiture was an important mode of self-presentation for women artists who needed to establish legitimacy within a profession dominated by men. Kauffmann's elegant handling and cool, controlled palette serve the image of artistic dignity she projects. The Bavarian State Painting Collections preserve this among works that document the exceptional career of one of the eighteenth century's most celebrated and widely admired painters.

Kauffman depicts herself with refined elegance and the soft palette of her mature style. The self-portrait combines personal warmth with professional authority.