Angelika Kauffmann, one of the most celebrated women artists of the 18th century, rose to prominence as both a history painter and a portraitist at a time when women rarely achieved recognition as their male counterparts. Trained by her father as he traveled through Europe, she immersed herself in the nascent rise of Neoclassicism, engaging with figures like Johann Joachim Winckelmann in Italy, before moving to England where she became one of only two women among the founding members of the Royal Academy. Upon her return to Italy, Kauffmann navigated the exclusive ranks of history painting with remarkable success, establishing an independent studio and recasting typically male-dominated narratives to give women ennobling roles in historical scenes—placing them at the center of moral and intellectual dramas that had long belonged to men.