Her first appearance was as a disembodied head, though Vicki's trial showed us she was capable of appearing human for a time and vanishing again at will. But by the end of 1795, her spirit was only able to strike out from the portrait-- the same one that will travel to 1968; this is what lead me to believe that by the time Bathia Mapes shows up at Collinwood, Angelique has already been consigned to hell.
Very interesting theory.
In reality I honestly suspect that Ang only striking out through the portrait had more to do with DC not wanting to pay Lara Parker to appear on the show if they could work a way around it than it did with the writers implying anything actually having to do with Ang personally. But within the context of the show's plot where little realities like the unwillingness of an exec producer to pay an actress has no bearing whatsoever, it's a fascinating possibility to think that Ang only struck through the portrait because she was actually unable to interact in any other way...