Comments (3)
I love how Angelica Kauffmann put herself into this self portrait painting. This debate between music and art is almost ironic because it is painted. The colors are tied across the painting nicely because the painter in blue has a red scarf and the singer in red has blue flowers in her hair. While her face seems to be an indication she is leaning towards music, you will notice how her body is turned and her hand is gesturing towards the art side. The medium, oil paint, leans into the inspiration from the classicism period of art where most paintings were done with oils. The features of the ladies also indicate a learned method from the classicism period.
The work of Angelica Kauffman is very inspiring. This piece especially spoke to me because I feel like I am also torn between passions sometimes and this painting illustrates that struggle very well. Showing that this decision is as difficult as having to choose between two people. Her medium is very in keeping with neoclassical trends of making the paint smooth and appear soft. It is also neoclassical in how it invokes the same feelings of Greek and Roman art. Themes of harmony, clarity, and restraint are shown as she illustrates her struggle to choose between her passions within her self portrait. Demonstrating that this struggle is a huge part of who she is.
There is so much that could be said of this painting; it is full of symbolism. For instance I found Angelica's color palate tells a lot about the emotions she put into this piece. For herself she gave plain white color, while Art received primary colors and Music the alluring color red. With this in account and given the facial expressions present for all three characters, I would conclude that Art called to Angelica more persistently and Angelica listened. Maybe there is a small part of her though that regrets her decision and still clings to Music. This painting screams expressionism. It is all about Angelica and her inward feelings. The form and shape of the characters calls back to the classical age and reminds me of Leonardo da Vinci's style making this a pure neoclassical piece of art.