1795
Portrait of Alexander and Angelica Kauffmann Peale Robinson
Charles Willson PealeAmerican, 1741 - 1827
Charles Willson Peale’s double portrait of his eldest daughter, Angelica (1775–1853), and her wealthy, Irish-born husband, Alexander Robinson (1751–1845), commemorates their marriage in Philadelphia on June 15, 1794.
Peale based his composition on traditional European precedents symbolizing "marital concord." But, although he created a ravishing portrait of his beautiful daughter, his portrait of Alexander reveals the lack of rapport between the two men, and Peale later commented that Alexander sat for him with "poor grace."
Angelica was named after the Swiss-born artist Angelica Kauffman (1741–1807), a founding member of London's Royal Academy whom Peale had met and admired when he was in London from 1767 to 1769.
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