Monday, June 15, 2020

Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) - Conquering London

Godfrey Kneller (figure) and Jan Wyck (horse)
The Moroccan Ambassador
1684
oil on canvas
Chiswick House, London

attributed to Godfrey Kneller
Princess Anne (later Queen), daughter of James II
ca. 1687
oil on canvas
Bank of England Museum, London

Godfrey Kneller
Charles Mordaunt, 3rd Earl of Peterborough
and 1st Earl of Monmouth

ca. 1695
oil on canvas
Marble Hill House, London

Godfrey Kneller
Frances Whitmore, Lady Middleton
1690-91
oil on canvas
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Godfrey Kneller
Hortense Mancini, Duchess of Mazarin
1693
oil on canvas
Museums Sheffield, Yorkshire

"Godfrey Kneller, nĂ© Gottfried Kniller, was born in Germany and educated in the Netherlands and Italy; he is regarded, however, primarily as an English painter. In 1676 Kneller moved to England, where he changed his name, and by the turn of the eighteenth century had become one of the most influential English portraitists. English and foreign nobility flocked to his London workshop. His talent was held in high esteem by English kings, and after the death of Sir Peter Lely (1618-80) Kneller became Principal Painter to the Crown, a position he held virtually uninterrupted for years. Kneller received a knighthood from William III in 1692, and his last patron, George I, made him a baronet in 1715, the highest title ever granted to a painter at the time."  

– from curator's notes at the Leiden Collection

Godfrey Kneller
James Vernon
ca. 1690-97
oil on canvas
Government Art Collection, London

Godfrey Kneller
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
ca. 1706
oil on canvas
National Portrait Gallery, London

Godfrey Kneller
Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset
1719
oil on canvas
Government Art Collection, London

Godfrey Kneller
Margaret Cecil, Countess of Ranelagh
1690-91
oil on canvas
Royal Collection, Great Britain

Godfrey Kneller
Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys of Ombersley
1720
oil on canvas
Parliamentary Art Collection, London

Godfrey Kneller
Sir Thomas Dilkes
1704
oil on canvas
National Maritime Museum, London

Godfrey Kneller
Sir William Williams of Nantanog
ca. 1690
oil on canvas
Parliamentary Art Collection, London

Godfrey Kneller
William Cheselden
ca. 1722
oil on canvas
Hunterian Museum, London

Godfrey Kneller
William Clayton (later Lord Sundon)
1719
oil on canvas
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Godfrey Kneller
William Congreve, dramatist
ca. 1710
oil on canvas
National Trust, Ickworth House, Suffolk