Pair of doors with scenes after Angelica Kauffman
after 1784
Medium
Wood, polychromed copper, gilt bronze
Dimensions
Each: 90 × 43 1/2 in. (228.6 × 110.5 cm)
Classification
Woodwork
Culture
British
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1962
Accession Number
62.37.1, .2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite pair of doors, adorned with scenes inspired by the neoclassical painter Angelica Kman, exemplifies the grandeur of late 18th-century British decorative arts. Created 1784, they draw from Kauffman's elegant compositions, which often featured graceful female figures from mythology and history—fittingly highlighted by the artwork's "Women" tag Kauffman, ablazing Swiss-born artist thrived in London's Royal Academy and later Rome, blended classical ideals with emotional depth, influencing interiors of the era's elite. Crafted from wood inlaid with polychromed copper and ornate gilt ...
About the Artist
Angelica Kauffmann · 1741–1807
Swiss painter and etcher, and one of the few women artists of the time working in the Neo-Classical style to specialize in both portraits and subject pictures. Her famous sitters include the family of George III in Britain, Grand-Duke Paul and Prince Nikolay Yusupov in Russia, Stanislav II Poniatowski and Stanislav Kostka Potocki in Poland, Queen Caroline of Naples and Emperor Joseph II of Austria...