Sir Godfrey KnellerPortrait of William Russell, Lord Russell, Oil on Canvas
About the Item
- Creator:Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646 - 1723, British)
- Dimensions:Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 11 in (27.94 cm)
- More Editions & Sizes:1 of 1Price: $4,585
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5247642952
Sir Godfrey Kneller
Sir Godfrey Kneller was a leading English Baroque portraitist whose subjects included nobility, politicians, poets, writers and other notable figures. His figurative and portrait paintings were in great demand for more than three decades around the turn of the 18th century.
Kneller was born in Lübeck, Germany, in 1646. His father was a painter and a city surveyor, positions which gave Kneller the opportunity of a university education. He studied mathematics at Leiden University in the Netherlands before shifting to painting, studying under luminaries such as Ferdinand Bol and Rembrandt.
In 1672, Kneller moved to Italy where he spent time in Rome and Venice painting portraits for the nobility. Around 1676, he moved to England, where he opened a studio. An encounter with the Duke of Monmouth led to an introduction to King Charles II, and Kneller became a court painter, garnering a reputation for his grand style. The young painter’s portraits had a penetrating quality that evoked the subject’s presence through like-like qualities on canvas.
In 1684, Kneller traveled to France to paint Louis XIV. Following the death of Charles II, he became the court painter for James II and later worked for his successors, William and Mary. Kneller was knighted in 1692 and received an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Oxford in 1695.
Between 1700 and 1720, he painted 42 portraits of members of the Kit-Cat Club, a political and literary group. Mary II also commissioned him to paint the Hampton Court Beauties, a series of paintings featuring the most graceful ladies of the royal court.
In 1711, Kneller became the governor of the London Academy and subsequently won re-election every year until 1718. King George I made him a baronet in 1715.
Kneller died in London in 1723, with hundreds of unfinished paintings remaining in the prolific portrait master's studio.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Sir Godfrey Kneller’s paintings.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- UnaLocated in London, GBRichard Waller 1811 - 1882 Una Oil on canvas, signed lower right and dated 1879 Image size: 23 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches (59.5 x 49.5 cm) Original frame Una is one of the main characters in the first book of Edmund Spenser...Category
19th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Portrait of a GentlemanLocated in London, GBOil on canvas Image size: 17 x 23 1/2 inches (43 x 60 cm) Contemporary William Kent hand made frameCategory
18th Century Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Portrait of Stanley Bate, 20th Century MusicianLocated in London, GBOil on canvas Image size: 24 x 29 inches (61 x 73.5 cm) Contemporary style gilt frame Provenance From the estate of the artist, Clara Klinghoffer This portrait is by an artist who propelled rapidly into the limelight after her first solo exhibition in 1920, at the age of 19, with the Daily Graphic naming her as the 'Girl Who Draws Like Raphael'. Yet today Clara Klinghoffer's name is little know. Klinghoffer's early success resulted in numerous portrait commissions, including this one of the English composer Stanley Bate. The bold use of colour and naive execution of this portrait clearly reveals the modernist influence of fellow Jewish artists such as Bernard Meninsky, Jacob Kramer and Mark Gertler...Category
20th Century Modern Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch, Early 18th Century Oil PaintingBy Dominicus van der SmissenLocated in London, GBDominicus van der Smissen Early 18th Century Portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch Oil on canvas Image size: 20½ x 16¼ inches Period gilt frame This is a portrait of Conrad Friedrich Hurlebusch, composer, Kapellmeister and organist, whom Van der Smissen most probably portrayed during his stay in Hamburg, Brunswick or Amsterdam. The identification is based on the reproduction of the portrait which was engraved by Pieter Anthony Wakkerdak (1740- 1774). Van der Smissen has reduced the face of the sitters to an egg-shaped oval in three-quarter view, applying diminution to one half of the figure’s torso, which is farther away from the viewer. This partial side view, with the head turned to look at the viewer over the shoulder, creates spatial depth and brings the figure to life by avoiding the stiffness of a frontal depiction. Because the artist chose to highlight the figure from above, a distinct shadow is cast under the tip of the nose, in the shape of a triangle. This is an often recurring and almost ‘signature’-like feature in Van der Smissen’s oeuvre. Hurlebusch's garments are of a very high quality and serve to reflect the sitter’s wealth, status and elegance. During this period, gentlemen often shaved their heads in order to facilitate the wearing of a wig, which wouldbe worn with a suit. Here Hurlebusch has been depicted in a luxurious turban-like cap lined with lynx fur, a highly fashionable and expensive material at the time. Over his shirt, he wears a velvet fur-lined gown adorned with decorative clasps fashioned from silver braid. The elegant informality of his appearance can be seen in his unbuttoned shirt and the unfastened black ribbon hanging from his button hole, which has been artfully arranged into a fluttering drape by the portraitist. The Sitter Hurlebusch was born in Brunswick, Germany. He received the first instructions in his field from his father Heinrich Lorenz Hurlebusch, who was also a musician. As an organ virtuoso, he toured Europe, visiting Vienna, Munich and Italy. From 1723 to 1725 he was Kapellmeister in Stockholm; later he became Kapellmeister in Bayreuth and Brunswick, and lived in Hamburg from 1727 to 1742, where he had contact with fellow composers Johann Mattheson and Georg Philipp Telemann. He made his living composing, performing and teaching. In 1735 and 1736, he is believed to have visited Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, who promoted Hurlebusch’s compositions as the local seller...Category
Early 18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Portrait of a Lady in VeilLocated in London, GBOil on canvas, signed & dated '1890' lower right Image size: 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches (16.5 cm round) Cushion size: 19 x 19 inches (48cm square) Original gilt frame and cushioned mount...Category
1890s Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Portrait of a Girl with Book, 18th Century Regency Oil PaintingLocated in London, GBOil on canvas Image size: 28 3/4 x 24 inches (73 x 61 cm) Contemporary style gilt frame This portrait is an evocative example of Devis' Regency period portraiture, featuring a pleasant looking young girl holding a book in an outdoor setting. Working with a darker palette, a strongly accented diagonal recession, and dramatic contrasts of light and shadow, Devis heightens the girl's three-dimensional physical presence in the foreground of the composition. The Artist Arthur William Devis (10 August 1762 – 11 February 1822) was an English painter of history paintings and portraits. He painted portraits and historical subjects, sixty-five of which he exhibited (1779–1821) at the Royal Academy. Among his more famous works are a depiction of the Death of Nelson and a posthumous portrait of Nelson. Devis was born in London, the nineteenth child of the artist Arthur Devis and his wife Elizabeth Faulkner. Devis was the younger brother of the painter Thomas Anthony Devis (1757–1810) and of the schoolmistress and grammarian Ellin Devis (1746–1820), teacher, among others, of author of Maria Edgeworth and Frances Burney (later novelist Madame d'Arblay). He followed his elder brother Thomas Anthony in becoming a pupil at the Royal Academy Schools in 1774 and like his brother exhibited at the Free Society of Artists, of which in 1768 their father had become president, and at the Royal Academy. Early on he came to the notice of Sir Joshua Reynolds. He was appointed draughtsman on the British East India Company's packet Antelope in a voyage in 1783, under Captain Henry Wilson. In her he was injured in an encounter with Papuans near the Schouten Islands and was then wrecked on the Pelew Islands before proceeding to Canton and thence to Bengal. During his voyages, the artist received arrow wounds, one of which inflicted permanent injury on his lower jaw. During his time in Bengal, he painted a portrait of Sir William Jones, at the time a judge in Fort William. The painting now hangs at the British Library. He was back in London by 1795 and is recorded on 21 July 1797 as living at 27 George Street, Hanover Square, where he was insured by the Sun Assurance Office. He is noted for his involvement in the creation of the posthumous cult of Horatio Nelson. As she returned from Trafalgar, Devis went out to meet HMS Victory and was present on board the ship during the autopsy of Nelson's body conducted by Dr Beatty, the ship's surgeon. With the help of sketches he took at that time, he painted a heroic Death of Nelson, which proved a sensation. Devis also painted Dr Beatty, and was commissioned by him to produce a half-length painting of Nelson as vice-admiral, which he lent to Emma Hamilton (who later lost it in an accident whilst travelling). Either the original or a copy of this portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy two years after the Battle and many copies were made of it. Lord Howe owned one, and another ended up in the collection of the National Maritime Museum. It also appeared as an engraving in Beatty's published account of Nelson's death. Other work includes a portrait of King George III on horseback, and a range of portraits of admirals and generals, along with historical subjects, such as the Babington Plot and the signing of the Magna Carta...Category
18th Century Victorian Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Bleasure 5 (House of Cards)By Ajegbomogun DamilolaLocated in Ibadan, OyoShe built a small house as an expression of her philosophy of life, it was squarish and made entirely of cards. A staircase rose in three sections to the upper half-floor which conta...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- GuardianLocated in Ibadan, OyoGuardian, protector, defender of the light, you watch over us through the darkest of nights. with a heart full of courage and a will of steel, You shield us from harm and make us fee...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil, Acrylic
- Face Your Fears 2Located in Ibadan, Oyo"Face Your Fears" by Simon Obeka is a thought-provoking artwork that captures the essence of courage and self-discovery. At its core, the painting features a young woman adorned in a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- State of the NationLocated in Ibadan, OyoHe made the decision to go closer after hearing a disturbing noise coming from the upper room. When he arrived, he carefully pulled back the green curtain at the enormous room's entr...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- My Source and My PrideLocated in Ibadan, OyoThe story of Adaugo in London inspired this piece. Adaugo came from a very remote village in Africa. Providentially, she landed a good job as a caregiver in London. Despite all the ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- For the Roses 2Located in Ibadan, OyoThe artwork "For The Roses" by Olaosun Oluwapelumi features a woman holding a single rose flower against a floral pattern background. The piece is a beautiful tribute to the timeless...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil, Acrylic