Dido, Queen of Carthage, mourning the departure of Aeneas.

Drawing, black chalk, 30,4 x 24,8 cm (oval), laid paper, unsigned (trimmed to oval framing lines and laid down on paper).

Mounted on early 19th-c. passe-partout.

The Swiss artist Angelica Kauffmann (1741-1807) is often regarded as one of the best female artists of the 18th century. She was one of the two female founding members of the Royal Academy in London in 1768 and her neo-classical works evoked great interest on the early 18th-century art market. After 1763 she moved to Rome where she became one of the most renowned society figures, receiving visitors (including Goethe) from all over Europe. The composition of this drawing of a lamenting Dido corresponds to that of a painting (Christie's Sale 22/03/2006, Lot 1413) by Kauffmann depicting the same scene but with Dido's head turned to the right. The composition was also published as an engraving by Jean-Marie Delattre in 1784. Considering the searching nature of the drawing and the affinity with Kauffmann's style, this sheet is most likely a study drawing by Kauffmann for the painting.