Portrait of Baroness Von Bauer 

Editor: This is a portrait of Baroness Von Bauer by Angelica Kauffmann, created using oil paint. I’m really drawn to how the artist uses light to create such soft, almost dreamlike textures in her dress and hair. What strikes you most about it? Curator: The first thing that strikes me is the oval format, a popular choice for portraits in the late 18th century. It subtly frames the sitter, drawing the eye directly to her face and the elaborate construction of textures of fabrics and feathers that both adorn and, to a degree, constrict her. Note how the painter utilizes tonal gradations within a limited chromatic register to describe her voluminous hairstyle and striking plumage. What is your view of that stylistic approach? Editor: It does feel quite contained. I like your point about tonal gradations. How does Kauffmann's specific technique—her brushwork and use of layering, for instance—contribute to the overall reading of the work, and how is it similar or different to other contemporary painters working at this time? Curator: The academic approach she employs favours a smooth finish with the brushstrokes themselves largely invisible. Kauffman creates this likeness utilizing what can be seen as idealised and refined pictorial language, akin to Neoclassical sensibilities emerging across Europe at this time. Consider the geometry inherent to this form; a study of ovals, from the composition itself down to the curling strands of hair. Note also the carefully rendered fabric folds and adornments on the sitter, which communicate important visual information about class, and privilege. Editor: I hadn't really considered those compositional choices. Seeing those visual layers and underlying shapes, I'm gaining a greater understanding and a richer view of the portrait. Curator: Exactly. Through visual inspection, one begins to decipher how visual form generates social and political meanings.