Where have gone the Strength and Wisdom of Angelica Kauffmann ?

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

Angelica Kauffmann was a gifted girl. Born in 1741 in the Grisons (Graubunden), she spent her childhood in Vorarlberg, and showed an early talent for art. A special success for portraits of notables pushed her very quickly into the high society, and she spent her entire life meeting intellectuals and artists, including Reynolds and Goethe.

Her life has been forgotten, she is now rather outdated, but the historical scenes are still appreciated. Many paintings are framed in oval format, suitable to represent the friendly charm of her models.

On February 24, Im Kinsky sells in Vienna a pair of tondos painted before 1777, diameter 35 cm. Entitled Allegory of Justice and Allegory of Temperance, each of these paintings shows a young woman in discussion with an Eros. They are presented in square frames beautifully carved. The pair is estimated 250 K €.

These two works were part of a series on the four cardinal virtues, but nobody knows the fate of the Strength and of the Wisdom. Herself had her wisdom lost ten years earlier during a clandestine marriage with a false Swedish baron.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

This lot has not found a buyer at auction. In after-sales, it now expects a deal at 200 K €.