Kauffmann Before Her Time

ANGELICA KAUFFMANN'S ZEUXIS SELECTING MODELS FOR HIS PAINTINGS OF HELEN OF TROY (1764)

Is a canvas piece based off of a moment in time that was valuable to a famous painting. There is certainly a slew of various aesthetics present in this piece involving the women's visual appearance. These aspects of the women, that we will deconstruct, may have also been an attempt, by Elisabeth, to comment on a greater understanding of gender dynamics during the 1700's (approaching the Victorian Era).

Dissecting the appearance of the painting and women in it, I want to begin by recognizing the linearity of the individuals in the painting. not only are they existing similar in a line across the landscape but they are also all vey similar in feature and attire. There faces are uniquely similar, all very precise with rosy complexion with white fair skin and blond done up hair in braids and buns, while they are all wearing the trojan style sandals (except for the women in the center whose sandals are off to the side) and draping robes. However, it is interesting to notice that there is one women in white (the women in the middle), the women Zeuxis is working with. You could say she is the only one that seems pleased out of all the women. The other women in the painting fade into the darker shadows of the piece. The woman on the right side of Zeuxis, standing in front of the large white wall (possibly canvas), is interesting as well as she doesn't seem to be wearing as little clothes as everyone else and she seems to be messing with the art supplies. Last, I think it's important to point out that Zeuxis' attention to body structure, as he approaches his subjects stance, and particularly the women in white could be subtly suggestive of a man's draw to purity. There is the construction of beauty in the making in this piece. I think that it is interesting to look further at the subject herself who seems to be statuesque and literally the "fairest" of them all. Overall, in my particular opinion, this painting seems like it may have been a representation of how women were valued at the time, as they were partially symbols of sex and 'beauty' while also being essential to the household and simply statues of the family rather than worthy of collaboration with their spouses and higher economical positions within society.