KAUFMANN, MARIA AI\GELICA, was born at Chur iu the Grisons, or Graubtindten, in 1741 or 1742. Her father, Joseph Kaufmann, was a portrait painter, of very ordinary ability ; he how ever devoted unusual attention to the education of his daughter, who displayed uncommon abilities at an early age, both for painting and for music. Ile took her, while still young, to Milan, where they dwelt some time ; and in 1763 they visited Rome, and there Angelica attracted general notice among the virtuosi, and obtained considerable reputation for her portraits In oil : in singing too, according to Winckelmann, she was equal to any of her contemporaries. She painted a half-length of Winekclmann and made an etching of it herself. Winckelmann, in a letter to a friend, epeaks in admiring terms of Angelica's accomplishments, especially her facility in speakiog the German, Italian, French, and English languages.
In 1705 Angelica visited Venice, and in the same year came iu company with Lady Wentworth to England, where she was received in a most flattering manner: she was elected one of the original thirty-slx members of the Royal Academy, founded in 1768. She returned to Italy iu 1782, having in the previous year been married to Antonio Zucchi; she did not however change her name, but was always known as Augelica Kaufmann. She died at Rome in 1S07, or according to some accounts in 1808. She etched several plates, and many of her own works have been engraved by Bartolozzi and other eminent engravers. Angelica is said, previously to her marriage
with Zucchi, to have beau cheated into a marriage with an adventurer who gave himself out as a Swedish count : as the story, however, though often repeated, does not appear to be sufficiently authenticated, an allusion to It is sufficient. The account of her which appeared in Hubees 'Manuel des Amateurs,' &c., in 1796, was declared to be wholly incorrect by Angelica herself, in an Italian periodical in ISOG ; but the story of the impostor does not occur in this notice.
Angelica, though not beautiful, had a graceful person and egreeablo manners, and she was very highly accomplished generally. To these attractions must be attributed her success, for as a painter she did nothing of value beyond an elegant female portrait, or an occasional female figure. Her compositions are deficient in every essential quality of art; in drawing she was extremely feeble, and her male and female characters are hardly otherwise different than in costume. There is a large allegorical painting 'Religion attended by the Graces' by her in the National Gallery. ' (Clothe, Winkebnann end sein Jahrhundert ; Fiorillo, Geschichte der Zeichnenden 'ante in Deutschland, dc.; Nagler, Ku la-cr. Lexicon.)