17th/18th century portrait , Circle Godfrey Kneller, wife, Earl of westmorland

17th century

Portrait of Lady Sarah Cowper, nee Holled [1644-1720]-Circle of Michael Dahl (unsigned)17th century,Oil painting on canvas oval,bust-length . She has dar...

I have great pleasure in offering for sale this beautiful portrait, by Nathaniel Hone, the elder. 18th century. The painting is of Ann Anderson, wife...

Sir Godfrey Kneller 1646-1723, was a German born British portrait painter. He was born in Leiden and studied under Bol and Rembrandt, before travelling to Rome, Venice, Hamburg and ...

Oil on canvas Image size: 30 1/4 x 25 inches (77 x 63 cm) Original hand carved gilt frame Provenance Private Estate, England This is a very fine example of Kneller's work in the early 18th century. Here, the emphasis is placed directly on the sitter's alluring femininity, with this being enhanced by the falling hair around her shoulder. This looseness of focus is created with a free fluidity of brushstrokes. He has used a Rembrandt-esque technique of subtle tones in the face, and we can see how Kneller often allowed the bluer ground layer to show through when suggesting the darker flesh tones.The painterly technique seen here is an excellent demonstration of Kneller’s style. The bold handling of the flesh tones is Kneller at his most emphatic, while the sizeable areas of dark grey ground we see are indicative of his method of painting quickly, developed by this stage in his career to cope with the many demands of a large circle of patrons. The same effect is used for the shadows in the face: rather than paint darker colours on top of the pink flesh tones, as most artists would have done, Kneller instead painted in the reverse order, using the ground layer for his dark shadows, and then painting the lighter colours on top. Often he worked with an almost dry brush in strong firm strokes. Here the flesh tones have been rapidly, almost roughly painted, with bold areas of impasto giving way to areas where almost no paint has been applied at all, a trick that allowed Kneller to use the blue-grey ground layer to show darker flesh tones. Godfrey Kneller...