The attractive young woman in a transparent and low-cut dress can hardly have been older than twenty when Angelica Kauffman painted her in Rome. It belongs to Kauffman’s late roman period and it is typical for a series of female portraits that she created between 1800-1806 according to a similar type, dressed in the latest fashion. The particularly fine jewellery she wears indicates a noble context. Unusual is the golden pendant in the shape of an arrow with a bow hanging from a gold link chain placed twice around the neck, perhaps a symbol for Love.

According to the current state of research, the identity of the attractive young woman is not known. Various indications suggest that the sitter was a member of the Tadini family, perhaps of the circle around the famous collector Conte Luigi Tadini (1745 -1829), founder of the Accademia di Belle Arti Tardini in Lovere. Otherwise an inscription on the reverse of the

frame could indicate that the picture was formerly in the collection of Gerolamo Conte Tadini Oldofredi (1773 - 1839), another branch of this family.

We thank Dr. Bettina Baumgärtel, Head of the Angelica Kauffmann Research Project, for her help in the preparation of this catalog entry. She will consider the painting in the forthcoming catalogue raisonée of Angelica Kauffmann.

Angelica Kauffmann - Ritratto Femminile

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