and Marie LeBrun. Angelica Kauffmann, the daughter of an artist, was born in 1740 at Coire in Switzerland, from where she went later on to Italy, to study the great masters. In 1765 she came to London. Here she painted many excellent portraits as well as numerous classic and allegorical subjects. In 1781 she returned to Italy. Here she was always much feted and admired for her talents as well as for her personal charm. Goethe, who met Angelica Kauffmann in Rome, admired her works very much. "No living painter," so he wrote in a letter, "excels her in dignity or in the delicate taste with which she handles the pencil." And Raphael Mengs, one of the most brilliant artists of the Rococo, praised her in the following words: "As an artist Angelica Kauffmann is the pride of the fema'e sex in all times and all nations. Nothing is wanting; composition, coloring, fancy, all are here." When she died in November, 1807, she was honored by a splendid funeral under the direction of Canova. The entire Academy of St. Luke at Rome with numerous ecclesiastics and virtuosi followed her funeral train and, as at the burial of Raphael, two of her latest paintings were carried behind her coffin in the procession.
Of Madame LeBrun, who was born in 1755 in France, it has been said that "a more ideal artist never lived." The well-known portrait of herself and her daughter has been termed "the tenderest of all pictures." She also painted several portraits of the unfortunate Queen Marie Antoinette. The Louvre has one of her best paintings: "Peace bringing back Abundance."
Madame LeBrun was one of the most prolific artists of all times. In her autobiography, entitled "Souvenirs," she states that she finished six hundred and sixty-two portraits, fifteen large compositions, and two hundred landscapes, the latter sketched during her travels in Switzerland and England. During the 18th Century Germany was the scene of the greatest activity of women artists. France held the second place and Italy the third, thus reversing the conditions of preceding centuries. Flanders and Antwerp too were famous for women artists, some of whom went to other countries where they were recognized for their talent and attainments.
The most famous woman artist of the 19th Century was Rosa Bonheur, born in 1832 at Bordeaux, the daughter of Raymond Bonheur, an artist of merit. From him she received her first instructions. In 1841 she began exhibiting in the Paris Salon, with several small animal paintings, indicating the direction in which she was to attain her future eminence. Her great success in painting animals was due to her conscientious study of living subjects. One of her masterpieces, "Plowing with Oxen," ranks among the gems of the Luxembourg. Another excellent painting, "The Horse Fair," was the chief
235
