Swiss by birth and Italian by training, Kauffmann arrived in England in 1766 to resounding social and artistic success. However, the adoption of classical dress and use of classical statues was relatively commonplace for portraits at this time and could have featured in the depiction of any aspiring or would-be intellectual. Prominent late eighteenth-century female intellectuals such as the historian Catherine Macaulay (1731–1791) and the writer Elizabeth Montagu (1718–1800) have been suggested, prompted undoubtedly by the inclusion of the book, scroll, writing implement and statue of Minerva, who was associated with poetry and wisdom. Since then several attempts have been made to identify the sitter. However, in the 1970s this attribution was questioned and an earlier date placing it in the period she was working in Britain (1766¿–81) was adopted along with the more general title it now holds. The painting entered the Tate collection in 1967 as a self-portrait of Angelica Kauffmann, and was deemed to have been executed when she retired to Rome in the 1790s. On the table is a statue of the Roman goddess Minerva and a book. To her left is an ornate table with gold legs resembling those of a lion. Her hands are placed together in front of her, and hold a scroll and a writing implement. This small-scale oil painting depicts a woman in classical costume seated on a chair with her left elbow resting on a plinth on which a large column stands.
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