Angelika Kauffmann (1741–1807) is regarded as the first woman artist of European standing. Well educated and very well connected, she enjoyed an international reputation. She pursued a brilliant career and was one of the outstanding artist personalities of the Classical Age in Londonand Rome. She was admired by Goethe and Herder and her clients included queens and emperors from across the continent.

Angelika Kauffmann describes the Kauffmann myth, which arose evenduring her lifetime. Her remarkable life and work are presented in some100 of her best paintings and drawings, including many new discoveries. This overview volume focuses on Kauffmann’s impact in England, especially as the first female member of the Royal Academy of Arts, as well as her work as a pioneering history painter, fashionable portraitist and champion of a new ideal of masculinity.