It was an extreme pleasure to view 2 of Angelica Kauffmann’s paintings at the Making Her Mark exhibit, at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO).
Sappho Inspired by Love
1775 – Oil on Canvas
Born in Switzerland in 1741, Angelica studied under her father, muralist Johann Joseph Kauffman. By 12 years of age she was considered a prodigy, could sing (soprano) and was soon fluent in German, Italian, French and English.
In the early 1760s, a transient life travelling through Switzerland, Austria, and Italy, as her father’s assistant, introduced her to classical and Renaissance art. She also became familiar with the emerging art movement, Neoclassicism.
In this painting-
“the Greek poet Sappho – (around 630-around 570 BCE) – known for her poetry about desire between women – collaborates on a verse with Cupid, the god of love.” -AGO
“Translations of Sappho’s erotic poetry circulated throughout the 1700’s, contributing to her reputation as a historical touchpoint for female and queer poets.” – AGO
In 1765 Angelica was elected to Rome’s Academia di San Luca, in recognition of her works.
Accompanying Lady Wentworth, Angelica moved to London in 1766. Here she became the demanded portraitist for aristocrats and royalty.
In 1767, she married a fraudulent Count Frederick von Horn, clergyman. Later that same year, Angelica found herself abandoned. The imposter had been found out and fled the scene.
Telemachus Returning to Penelope
circa 1771 -Oil on Canvas
In 1768, Angelica Kauffmann and Mary Moser, became the only female painters among the founding members of London’s Royal Academy of Art. Her work showed regularly at the Academy for the next 16 years.
Angelica formed a personal style of painting women from classical history and mythology. This strong brand of hers evolved from the reality that women were not permitted, excluded from life drawing classes.
In the 1770’s, she became part of a team painting interior designs for Robert Adam. A Scottish architect and designer, he, with his brother James, transformed English Palladian Neoclassicism into the airy, light, elegant Adam decor.
Telemachus, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, is now a man and a warrior. He has aided Odysseus in slaying the unwanted suitors of Penelope, and is back at home in Ithaca.
In 1781, at 39 years of age and after the death of von Horn, she is remarried to the Venetian painter, Antonio Zucchi. He succeeds Angelica’s father as her business manager.
The marriage contract guarantees her the rights to her income.
She retired to Rome in the early 1780s with her husband, Antonio Zucchi.
In 1782 Angelica Kauffman opens an internationally attended studio beside the Spanish Steps (a Baroque stairway in Rome, connecting the Piazza di Spagna with the Trinità dei Monti church.) It becomes the “In Place” for intellects.
In 1787, Angelica Kauffman becomes a dear friend of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. She paints his portrait and becomes part of Goethe’s innermost circle.
Angelica Kauffmann died in 1807. She had become exceedingly famous by that time; so much so that Antonio Canova (prominent Neoclassical sculptor), directed her funeral. It was inspired by the funeral of the Renaissance master Raphael.
Hi there! I’m Bricks, and that there back-up pigeon behind me is Nicks. We’ve been rhabdomancing around the hood, searching for this year’s water supply, but what do we find instead?
Bricks -So, while we are walkin’ the walk and gettin’ the straight street talk, we figure we might as well pass it on to you humans. After all, you need it more than we do.
Nicks – Yeah, you humans need to chill out!
Bricks – That’s right. Slow down and Inhale/Exhale!
Nicks – Be Kind -Unwind!
Bricks – Of course some of the information can be disturbing.
Nicks – You mean like this one?
Nicks – How can anyone on the planet be illegal? Yet, we need to be reminded?
Bricks – Yeah, the reminders can be pointed. BUT some messages are more positive Euphemisms, like –
AND
AND
AND
Nicks – Well, are they euphemisms or advice or sayings?
Bricks– You’re makin’ me think to hard, and thinkin’s like work. You know what they say!
Bricks – But of course you’ll just keep asking questions, makin’ me think. You just can’t stop!
Bricks – Won’t Stop!
Nicks – That’s right! So, are we doves, Bricks? I want to be a dove? Can we be doves?
Bricks – YES! We are doves; big, fat, colourful street doves. But why do you care?
Nicks – Because I want to wish everyone PEACE & LOVE in this New Year!
Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza – whatever you celebrate, or don’t, have a good one!
This is posting on the Solstice, so I put it first. Hanukkah ends the next day. Then it’s Christmas, then Kwanza.
It began with a spotting from the streetcar. On an unused building, there are 2 wonderful nature scenes. They are what Trent (rip) named “Indoor Outdoor Art”. Painted in a studio, then coated with a clear protective coating, the paintings are finally adhered to a building.
The beautiful spirit woman drove me nuts to return on the first cloudy day. Due to the sun, (even on a cloudy day) the protective coating and the black background, I could not capture any images of the woman (my fave part) without reflections.
Left: cloudy day/ normal aperture opening. Right: black cloud day/ aperture closed amap
I returned twice more. The last time it was black sky. Even at that, the reflections were stubborn, so I closed the aperture to the extent the camera allowed. A dead on shot of her face close up, was difficult.
The reflections made me crazy, so I hit the black point in editing and got this.
This image is on the east side of the building. There is a narrow path between it, and the patio of the restaurant next door.
On the west side of the building, is the man spirit painting. It too is along a narrow path, but was easier to capture due to the angle of the sun, and not having a black background.
His colours are fantastic.
Pics taken by Resa – July & October, 2025
Toronto, Canada
The Artist: Joseph Sagaj is a Canadian indigenous artist, Anishnaabe of the Sturgeon Clan from the remote community of Neskantaga.
You can see my feet and legs reflected in the signature.
This head appears emerging out of the trees and into the water in the first scenic shot of the post!
This is my last post on GLAM this year. My old computer died, and now I need to spend some time catching up visiting!
Josefa de Ayala, aka Josefa de Óbidos, was a novelty. She was celebrated after her death; the only woman known to have worked as a painter in Portugal, during that period.
The Christ Child as Pilgrim – 1676– Oil on Canvas
Josepha learned to paint by helping her father, Baltazar Gomes Figueira. In her lifetime, Portugal was monetarily unstable and often at war. However, much of her artwork was for patrons in Coimbra, a wealthy area boasting a university.
At 29 years old, her parents gave written permission for her to be to be a Donzela emancipada. (emancipated woman). She remained unmarried and independent for her entire life.
She received many commissions, during her lifetime. However, Josepha was wealthy from real estate investments and was able to refuse work at the Portuguese court.
She signed many of her artworks, as Salvator Mundi. Thinking this was a male painter attracted clients, and prevented her from being forgotten over time.
Lavinia Fontana
Italian: 1552 -1614
Born in Bologna, died in Rome; Lavinia Fontana painted in the Mannerist style she was taught by her father, Prospero Fontana.
Holy Family with Saints Margaret and Francis – 1578
An important portraitist in the late 16th century, she also produced many religious paintings. Lavinia was celebrated for the vibrant colour and detail of the clothes and jewels her subjects wore. She also became one of the first women to render publicly funded, large scale figure paintings.
In 1577 Fontana married Gian Paolo Zappi. An inferior painter, he pivoted to becoming her business agent.
Some of her paintings are signed with her married name.
Lavinia was the mother of 11 children.
Enjoying the patronage of the family of Pope Gregory XIII, Lavinia painted portraits of much of the elite.
In 1604 she painted the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, for San Paolo Fuori le Mura in Rome. An altarpiece and her largest work, it was destroyed when the basilica burned down, in the fire of 1823.
This is an oil on canvas painting, and there were at least 2 others by Lavinia Fontana in the Making Her Mark exhibit. I’ll show those at another time, with a few more tidbits of her extraordinary life.
In the meantime, should you be interested to learn more about her, you can check out the links at the end of this post, search her online or in libraries.
Barbara Longhi
Italian: 1552 – 1638
Known primarily for her religious paintings, Barbara Longhi’s work can be difficult to differentiate from her father’s work. Her father, Luca Longhi, was a renown painter and miniaturist. Barbara began her art journey, by assisting him with altar pieces.
Virgin Mary & Infant Jesus – ca – 1575-80
She expanded beyond her father’s teachings by studying the works of Parmigianino and Correggio. Barbara painted primarily religious images, including several depictions of Madonna and Child with Renaissance style and features. I’m intrigued that parted drapes exposing landscapes was one of the elements.
Giorgio Vasari commended her for having “purity of line and soft brilliance of colour”.
Her ability to capture human interaction kept her one of the few successful career women of her day.
The Art Gallery of Ontario has obtained this 42.5 × 34 cm. oil on canvas painting for its permanent collection.
” Longhi’s painting, alongside two other gifted paintings by women artists (Mary Ann Alabaster (1805–1879) and Rosa Bonheur (1822–1899)), extends the AGO’s holdings of European Art by female artists three centuries deeper into the past.” – AGO
"but I have moved on to drawing and painting, which now dominate my artistic life."
"This book is a celebration of my cake and fondant art phase of life"
And what a fantastic phase it was! Just check out her “Jack Frost” cake above! I was so inspired, I drew the “Jacquie Frost” Art Gown below.
I’m just learning how to do white, so did a rendition of icy-blue white with window frost effect.
Of course there’s more to the book than cakes! There’s recipes and background history of both how fancy desserts and their recipes came to be, with a focus on:
Christmas Cakes
Okay, so that’s another kind of cake, but it is Christmas soon, and I just had to show off Robbie’s Tiered Rainbow Fairies Christmas Cake!
Which leads me to another Art Gown drawing inspired by the above cake; The Rainbow Fairies’ Art Gown.
Robbie says – “The ice cream fairies cake is a very happy one for me.”
If there is anything that could be constructed out of gingerbread, Robbie has engineered it.
To the left is her gingerbread Chapel.
To our right, is her gingerbread Windmill.
There are a lot of gingerbread creations in the book, but these two are the inspiration for my Gingerbread Art Gown, below.
Ginger models the Gingerbread Art Gown.
This lovely 100+ page book can set you up nicely for the oncoming holiday season, or any celebration that comes your way.
About Robbie Cheadle
South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated four poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies. .
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
OR – Just click on Something Fancy above, and go directly to its Amazon page!
Something Fancy is available in book or ebook formats!
You can find her books on Amazon sites around the globe. Just search “Robbie Cheadle” for children and youth books – “Roberta Eaton Cheadle” for adult books.
Thank you Lauren for thinking of me and taking these fab shots of beauty for me!
It’s a wonderful feeling to be thought of!
This gorgeous wall painting was taken by Lauren at Baydreamer Writes in late October, when out at a Mexican restaurant. I love it!
I also love Cora’s Quest (her first children’s book) and King Copper, Ever So Gently and More Than Coffee(fine poetry collections). Head to her site for the links to grab one of these gift-able books!
I’ve done reviews of all of her books. Just put the title into the “Search” engine not too far down the sidebar, and go to it.
MONA OF KENSINGTON
“This iconic Kensington Market mural is finally complete — 43 years after it was painted on a dare.”
She’s miserably hard to shoot up high and through wires, but she’s always been there. With her wonky eyes, she was there on my first shopping trip to Kensington.
When I started collecting street art, I did take pics of her. However, she was crumbling & in b&w. This summer the original artist returned and finished her. Here’s an article about it!
Faces in Waiting
The first stunning multi-colour face was on a Magic Mushrooms shop.
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This second face is on a shipping container used as a shop. A row of these container businesses line the Dundas West Skateboard Park “DUNBAT”
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The third face was on a restaurant in Yorkville in 2020. It’s gone now.
THE VIOLINIST
I’d love to learn to paint white on black!
WOW! Watch Lindsey dress during the performance. Stunning!
She painted Queens and Kings. She was the official portrait artist to Marie Antionette. Much has been recorded by and of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1775 -1842).
Yet, who are some of the extended royalty whose VigéeLe Brun’s images linger on earth for posterity? I was privy to viewing 3 of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s portraits at the Making Her Mark exhibit. All 3 are of royalty.
The Marquise de Pezay, and the Marquise de Rougé with Her Sons Alexis and Adrien
This massive painting (4.5 ‘ x 5.1’) painted in 1787, was one of my faves at the exhibit. It was almost like being with living people.
1787 – Oil on canvas
The Marquise de Pezay
There is not much written about The Marquise de Pezay nee: Caroline de Murat, and I cannot find the date of her birth. From an old Auvergne family, she was very beautiful and quite penniless.
In 1776 she married Alexandre-Frédéric-Jacques Masson , Marquis de Pezay. The Marquis de Pezay was a French Military officer of distinction, a writer and encyclopedist. In 1777, at only 36 years of age he died at Pezay Castle.
Vigée Le Brun and the Marquise de Pezay both fled Paris in 1789 shortly after the storming of the Bastille.
The Marquise de Pezay found refuge in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she died in 1794.
There is also a record of her in Heidelberg in 1791.
In researching Caroline de Murat, you will also find Caroline Murat is the name of Napoleon Bonaparte’s youngest sister.
Marquise de Rougé
Nee: Natalie Victurnienne de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1759 -1828). Her father was Jean Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart. Her mother was Charlotte Nathalie De Manneville.
She wed in 1777 to Bonabes-Jean-Catherine-Alexis de Rougé, the 3rd Marquis de Rougé. Five years later, returning from the West Indies on a battleship, he died.
In 1789 she and her sons left France for Switzerland, but returned to France in 1790. At that time, they lived in seclusion at the Château de Moreuil with her husband’s aunt, the Duchess d’Elbeuf. In 1791, she emigrated to Heidelberg, Germany, along with her children, her mother, andthe Marquise de Pezay.
From the Journal of the Emigration -by: Count d’Espinchal (1748 – 1823) while living in Heidelberg, Germany. Published from the original manuscripts in 1812.
“I have found living here since the winter, the Duchess de Mortemart, mother of the Duke and of the Marquis de Mortemart, both of whom are deputies to the Estates-General … and both members of the majority of the conservative nobility. The Marquise de Rougé, their sister, a pretty and amiable widow, is here with her children (she looks more like their sister) … and Mme de Pezay … who is her intimate friend.”
She returned to Paris in 1798. Her lands had been expropriated and sold. So, she took room and board in a home run by former nuns. Her sons joined her in France in 1800. She died on 25 December 1828
Alexis and Adrien
Alexis Bonabes Louis Victurnien, Marquis de Rougé, ( 1778 – 1839) was a French military officer and Statesman.
In April 1804, he married Alexandrine Célestine Zoé Emmanuelle Thimarette de Crussol d’Uzes (1785–1866). They had 6 children.
Adrien Gabriel Victurnien de Rougé (1782 – 1838) was a statesman and distinguished soldier.
In 1809 he married Caroline de Forbin d’Oppède. They had 4 children.
The Comtesse de Cérès
Seems some scallywag royalty wormed its way into Vigée Le Brun’s life.
1794 – Oil on canvas
It appears as though Anne Marie Thérèse de Rabaudy Montoussin (1759 – 1834) married “The Roué himself”, Jean de Barry-Cérès when she was 18.
Jean de Barry-Cérès, from suspect lower nobility, may have added the “de” to his name. That was easy to do back then, and claim you were A somebody. It appears he earned a scrounged living by both legal and so/so illegal means (gambling parlours and pimping) .
Not only does there appear to be only a Jean Barry (no Cérès), but it is somewhat unclear if he did wed Anne Marie Thérèse de Rabaudy Montoussin, who would have been his second wife. Barry’s first wife was Ursule Dalmas de Vernongrese.
Anne Marie Thérèse de Rabaudy Montoussin apparently married “de Barry” when she was eighteen. This portrait was done in 1784. She would have been 25.
De Barry, the Roué, was persona extremely non-grata at the French Court. Yet, Vigée Le Brun befriended the Comtesse de Cérès.
The friendship did not last.
Vigée Le Brun was furious that gossip was accusing her of having an affair with the French Finance Minister, Charles Alexandre de Calonne; gossip fuelled by the actions of Madame de Cérès .
From the memoirs of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
“While I was painting her portrait, she did me an atrocious disservice. In her ingratiating way she asked me to lend her my horses and carriage to take her to the theater. The next morning I requested my horses for eleven o’clock. Coachman, horses, nothing had come back. I learned that Madame de Cérès had spent the night at the Finance Ministry.”
All assumed the affair was with Vigée Le Brun, as it was her coach that spent the night outside the Finance Ministry.
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
I’d like to take a moment here to say how awed I was standing in front of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s paintings. They took my breath away. Rebecca Budd, curator of Chasing Art has, written an outstanding 7 part series onÉlisabeth Vigée Le Brun.
Below is the link to the first article. Just click on “NEXT POST” and work your way through this enchanting recounting of a remarkable woman in history, or I might say – Herstory!
Princess Anna Alexandrovna Galitzin (August 1763 — October 1842) was a Russian aristocrat of Georgian royal origin.
1797 – Oil on canvas
Anna was the daughter of the Tsarevich of Georgia. Growing up in Moscow, she knew a good deal of local power. This power was afforded her, because she was a member of the house of Bagration-Gruzinsky.
In 1785 she married the illegitimate son of Prince Aleksander Mikhailovich Golitsyn, Alexander Alexandrovich Litsyn. One year after his passing, in 1789, she married her third cousin once removed, Prince Boris Andreevicholitsyn. Together they had 8 children. Her husband died of a stroke in 1822.
Tsar Paul Icame to the Russian throne in 1796. In 1798 he promoted Prince Boris to lieutenant general. In 1800, Boris did something to anger a higher ranking officer. The result was that he, Anna and her family were “compelled to retire” to their estate, in the province of Vladimir.
In 1801 Alexander I came to power, and high society of St. Petersburg accepted the family back.
Back in St. Petersburg, Princess Anna hosted a most influential salon.
Vigée Le Brun was charging high prices when Princess Anna commissioned it in 1797. However, money was not an issue. Princess Anna possessed of one of the largest fortunes in the empire.
Also on display was the working drawing, in black and white chalk with stumping on paper.
It seems the gown Princess Anna is wearing was a house dress, nothing fancy. Also, for reasons of modesty, the sheer arm sleeves were apparently added after completion of the portrait.
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