Kora or Callirhoë. It is a well-authenticated fact that in the Greek city of Sicyonia, about the middle of the seventh century before Christ, there lived the first woman artist of whom we have a reliable account.
Her story has been often told, and runs in this wise: Kora, or Callirhoë, was much admired by the young men of Sicyonia for her grace and beauty, of which they caught but fleeting glimpses through her veil when they met her in the flower-market. By reason of Kora's attraction the studio of her father, Dibutades, was frequented by many young Greeks, who watched for a sight of his daughter, while they praised his models in clay.
At length one of these youths begged the modeller to receive him as an apprentice, and, his request being granted, he became the daily companion of both Kora and her father. As the apprentice was skilled in letters, it soon came about that he was the teacher and ere long the lover of the charming maiden, who was duly betrothed to him.
The time for the apprentice to leave his master came all too soon. As he sat with Kora the evening before his departure, she was seized by an ardent wish for a portrait of her lover, and, with a coal from the brazier, she traced upon the wall the outline of the face so dear to her. This likeness her father instantly recognized, and, hastening to bring his clay, he filled in the sketch and thus produced the first portrait in bas-relief! It is a charming thought that from the inspiration of a pure affection so beautiful an art originated, and doubtless Kora's influence contributed much to the artistic fame which her husband later achieved in Corinth.
In the latter city the portrait was preserved two hundred years, and Dibutades became so famous for the excellence of his work that at his death several cities claimed the honor of having been his birthplace.
Krafft, Anna Barbara. Member of the Vienna Academy. She was born at Igto in 1764, and died at Bamberg in 1825. She received instruction from her father, J. N. Steiner, of which she later made good use. Having married an apothecary, she went for a time to Salsburg, and again, after nine years in Prague, spent eighteen years in Salsburg, retiring finally to Bamberg. In the Gallery at Bamberg may be seen her portrait of the founder, J. Hemmerlein; in the Nostitz Gallery, Prague, a portrait of the Archduke Charles; in Strahow Abbey, Prague, a "Madonna"; and in the church at Owencez, near Prague, an altar-piece.
Kuntze, Martha. Born in Heinrichsdorf, Prussia, 1849. Pupil of Steffeck and Gussow in Berlin. In 1881 she went to Paris and studied under Carolus Duran and Henner, and later travelled in Italy, pursuing her art in Florence, Rome, and Southern Italy. She has an excellent reputation as a portrait painter, and occasionally paints subjects of still-life.
Küssner, Amalia. See [Coudert, Amalia Küssner].
Labille, Adelaide Vertus. Was born in Paris in 1749. She early developed a taste for art and a desire to study it. J. E. Vincent was her master in miniature painting, while Latour instructed her in the use of pastels. She was successful as a portrait painter and as a teacher, having some members of the royal family as pupils, who so esteemed her that they became her friends. She is known as Madame Vincent, having married the son of her first master in painting.
Her portrait of the sculptor Gois gained a prize at the Academy, and in 1781 she was made a member of that institution. We know the subjects of some large, ambitious works by Madame Vincent, on which she relied for her future fame, but unhappily they were destroyed in the time of the French Revolution, and she never again had the courage to attempt to replace them. One of these represented the "Reception of a Member to the Order of St. Lazare," the Grand Master being the brother of the King, who had appointed Madame Vincent Painter to the Court. Another of these works was a portrait of the artist before her easel, surrounded by her pupils, among whom was the Duchesse d'Angoulême and other noble ladies.