Portrait of Giuliana Pubblicola Santacroce as Lucretia.

This 1791 portrait of Giuliana Pubblicola Santacroce as Lucretia depicts the Roman noblewoman in the guise of the legendary Roman heroine whose rape and suicide triggered the overthrow of the Roman monarchy. Such allegorical portraits were popular among the Roman aristocracy. Kauffmann's refined oil handling favored cool, clear colors and gracefully elongated figures that drew on classical sculpture and Raphael's serene compositions, executed with a smooth, controlled touch that avoided all...

The allegorical portrait combines likeness with classical role-playing, using Kauffmann's refined Neoclassical style to present the contemporary sitter as an ancient heroine.