The works of Angelica Kauffmann, an exponent of European Neo-Classicism, were incredibly popular with her contemporaries. The subject of the Hermitage painting was inspired by the autobiographical Historia calamitatum ("History of My Troubles") by Pierre Abelard (1079-1142). It depicts the moment when the great philosopher parted from his beloved pupil Héloise. Such a subject was bound to move people. The painting lacks true emotional involvement, but that did not trouble a public who saw the purpose of art as being only to satisfy a sense of the beautiful. The scene is reminiscent of something acted out on the stage, where beautifully suffering heroes and heroines observe convention in their movements and poses. Kauffmann draws on the ancient canons, but creates images that are refined, invested with a slight sentimental melancholy. The figures' clothing includes elements of 18th-century fashion, because strict adherence to the era depicted was not regarded as necessary.
This painting which entered the Hermitage in 1797 was produced in England, where the artist lived for fifteen years, becoming a member of the Royal Academy in London.