Oil on canvas, 125.5cm by 105cm.
Angelica Kauffmann was Swiss-born; a multi-talented child prodigy, who by the age of twelve showed a special gift for painting.
She was sought after as a portrait painter, but always considered herself to be primarily a history painter; the most highly regarded and academic form of art in the 18th Century.
She was one of two female artists among the thirty-four founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768.
Brownlow, 9th Earl of Exeter (1725-1793), sat to her for his portrait in Naples in 1764, whilst on his first Grand Tour (PIC781), and subsequently became one of her principal patrons.
