Portrait of a Lady as Vestal Virgin (c.1781-1782). Angelica Kauffmann (Swiss, 1741-1807). Oil on can

Portrait of a Lady as Vestal Virgin (c.1781-1782). Angelica Kauffmann (Swiss, 1741-1807). Oil on canvas. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. 

The Vestal Virgin was one of the revered priestesses of the Roman goddess Vesta. In her temple they cultivated the fire; the oil lamp in the painting is a reference to this. Owing to their chastity, they were well suited as symbolic representations of spiritual purity. The Vestal Virgin, dressed in immaculate white clothes and partially veiled, keeps her eyes demurely averted and in shade. This reflects the contemporary ideal of the middle-class woman as virtuous and modest.