Composition

A figure rests her head on her hand as if deep in thought, a compass in hand. She leans on the base of a column which supports a chess board. She sits on the boundary between nature and architecture, since Composition draws from both fields. On the left are sheets of paper and a pen alluding to the preparatory drawings an artist does in creating a composition.

This painting is one of four by Kauffman, each representing one of the four ‘Elements of Art’ – Invention, Composition, Design and Colour. These four elements were laid out by fellow artist Joshua Reynolds in his Discourses on Art, given in lectures at the Royal Academy and later published in 1788. The paintings were commissioned by the RA to be displayed in the ceiling of the new Council Chamber.

In Composition (as well as Invention) the figures are engaged in reflection, whereas in Design and Colour they’re engaged in creation. When displayed in the ceiling, the paintings are paired: one practical and one theoretical at each side of the room.

Kauffman created strong female bodies in her work, inspired by examples from the Italian Renaissance. Artists and viewers of art in the 18th century would have been well versed in the many symbols she used. The chessboard is a symbol of an intellectual and strategic activity; the compass refers to the precision required in the first stages of making art. It is interesting to note that although tradition may have made some symbolic figures male, Kauffman created all female figures.