Possibly Franciska Krasinska, Duchess of Courland
Angelica Kauffmann·c. 1790
Historical Context
Kauffmann's portrait, possibly of Franciska Krasinska, Duchess of Courland, from around 1790, belongs to her late career when she was based in Rome after leaving England and serving European aristocratic clientele throughout the Continent. The Duchy of Courland — a German-speaking Baltic state in what is now Latvia — was a minor but culturally connected European court whose aristocracy traveled in European circles and commissioned portraits from leading European artists. Kauffmann's Rome-period portraits served this international clientele, her reputation as the preeminent female painter in Europe making her a natural choice for aristocratic women seeking portraits with the prestige of Italian connections.
Technical Analysis
Kauffmann's oil on canvas shows her mature portrait style with soft, warm color, graceful composition, and the refined rendering of fabric and flesh that characterizes her best work.
Provenance
By descent in the Krasinski Family, Saxony; sold 1889 to Mrs. George Rutledge Preston, New York;[1] by inheritance to her daughter, Alice Preston, London; gift 1954 to NGA. [1] According to a 1 May 1954 letter from the donor to NGA director David Finley (in NGA curatorial files), her mother purchased the painting in June 1889 through the curator Theodor Schmidt of the Royal Dresden Gallery.
See It In Person
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Edward Smith Stanley (1752–1834), Twelfth Earl of Derby, Elizabeth, Countess of Derby (Lady Elizabeth Hamilton, 1753–1797), and Their Son (Edward Smith Stanley, 1775–1851)
Angelica Kauffmann·ca. 1776
