Old Man Reading

c. 1762

Meets Benjamin West and Johann Friedrich Reiffenstein

In Florence Kauffman met the painters Benjamin West and Johann Friedrich Reiffenstein.

June 1762

Moves to Florence and meets Neoclassicism

In June 1762 Kauffman and her family moved to Florence, where she first encountered the style that would be called Neoclassicism.

October 1762

The academies of Florence and Bologna elect her

In October 1762 Angelica was elected a member of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence and became an honorary member of the Accademia Clementina in Bologna.

January 1763

Meets the English community in Rome

Moving to Rome in January 1763, Kauffman was introduced to the British community there; as she learned more English and continued with portraiture, she became a popular portraitist for British visitors to Rome.

1764

Her portrait of Winckelmann

In Rome Kauffman painted a half-length portrait of the art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann and also made an etching of it; in August 1764 Winckelmann wrote to a friend about her popularity: she spoke Italian and German, handled French and English with ease, could be called beautiful, and in singing could vie with the best virtuosi.

1765

Her portrait of Garrick in London brings her first fame

In 1765 her portrait of David Garrick, painted in Rome, was exhibited in London and brought Kauffman her first fame in England.