Even as a child Angelika Kauffmann created widely-acclaimed portraits. While in Rome in 1763 the young artist became acquainted with the teaching of Winckelmann, which resulted in her refocusing on a Neoclassisist concept of art. However her portraits and historical pieces still retained something of the grace of rococo painting.

Kauffmann was accepted as a member of the Accademia di San Luca when still only 23 years of age. The artist lived in London for 15 years from 1766, where she became a founding member of the Royal Academy and celebrated her greatest successes. She finally settled in Rome in 1782. There she was the artistic and social focal point for study trips and grand tours of the social and intellectual elite of Europe. Her clients were also international in their origins: the higher nobility of Austria, England, Italy, Poland and Russia.