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Sir Godfrey Kneller More Art

British, 1646-1723

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.

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Artist: Sir Godfrey Kneller
Portrait Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland c.1690–1695 Oil painting
Portrait Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland c.1690–1695 Oil painting

Portrait Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland c.1690–1695 Oil painting

By Sir Godfrey Kneller

Located in London, GB

Portrait of Prince George of Denmark, Duke of Cumberland (1653–1708) c.1690–1695 Studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723) Few portraits embody the visual authority and dynastic sy...

Category

17th Century Old Masters Sir Godfrey Kneller More Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait of a Gentleman in a Red Coat and Periwig, c.1715-1725; Godfrey Kneller
Portrait of a Gentleman in a Red Coat and Periwig, c.1715-1725; Godfrey Kneller

Portrait of a Gentleman in a Red Coat and Periwig, c.1715-1725; Godfrey Kneller

By Sir Godfrey Kneller

Located in London, GB

Portrait of a Gentleman in a Red Coat and Periwig, c.1715-1725 Studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723) This portrait of a gentleman, presented by Titan Fine Art, is a fine and wel...

Category

18th Century Old Masters Sir Godfrey Kneller More Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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