Godfrey Kneller was born as Gottfried Kniller, the third son of the painter Zacharias Kniller. The family was wealthy and respected. His father had been in the service of the Swedish king for a long time and had then been appointed to the position of Chief Surveyor in Lübeck. Although his father planned a career in the military for him and therefore sent him to study at the University of Leiden, the young Gottfried's artistic interests prevailed. He moved to Amsterdam, where he was taught by Ferdinand Bol in the style of Rembrandt and also undertook trips to Rome and Venice for study purposes.
From 1666 he worked as an independent painter and moved from Hamburg to England in 1676, where he took his English name. From the year 1700 Kneller counts among the most influential portrait painters. His outstanding ability to produce expressive character studies made him one of the most successful English painters of his time. The entire English, French and German nobility had their portraits painted by him. From 1680 he became the official portraitist of the British king and in 1692 he was elevated to knighthood by the king.
Among his most famous works are the 42 portraits of the members of the important "Kit-Kat-Club" of the English Whigs, which included John Locke. These portraits also gave rise to the term "Kit-Kat-Format" for portraits of a certain, shortened format of about 91 x 71 centimetres, on which at least one hand of the person depicted is always visible.
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 1702 - (MeisterDrucke-273368).jpg "Portrait of Isaac Newton (1642-1727) 1702 by Godfrey Kneller")
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 1st Duke of Marlborough - (MeisterDrucke-52771).jpg "Portrait of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Isaac Newton by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Alexander Pope, pub. 1716 by Godfrey Kneller")
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_1690_8Gkilled_at_the_Battle_of_Steenkirk_in_1692_-_(MeisterDrucke-199490).jpg "General Hugh Mackay, killed at the Battle of Steenkirk in 1692 during the Nine Years")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-145949).jpg "Portrait of Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds by Godfrey Kneller")
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 Secretary to the Admiralty - (MeisterDrucke-204611).jpg "Samuel Pepys, Secretary to the Admiralty by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Lady with a Dog and a Parrot, 17th century by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Algernon Seymour, Earl of Hertford, later 7th Duke of Somerset, when a boy, aged about 4 by Godfrey Kneller")
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_c1646-81_(oil_on_canvas)_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376466).jpg "Portrait of Colonel the Hon. John Russell by Godfrey Kneller")
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_from_Illustrations_of_English_and_Scottish_History_Volum_-_(MeisterDrucke-100547).jpg "Queen Mary II from")
_from_Illustrations_of_English_and_Scottish_History_Volum_-_(MeisterDrucke-100547).jpg)
 1711 - (MeisterDrucke-107544).jpg "Portrait of Sir Christopher Wren, 1711 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Face of a man, three-quarters, looking directly at viewer, possibly a self-portrait by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John Locke, English Philosopher by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Queen Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Richard Lumley, Earl of Scarborough by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of William, Lord Digby, 1715 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Queen Anne and William, Duke of Gloucester by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Catherine Noel, Countess of Rutland by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Joseph Harwar, President of Magdalen College by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormond, engraved by Henry Robinson by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, with His Three Sisters, Elizabeth, Juliana and Jane Boyle by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376402).jpg "Portrait of Lady Robert Russell by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Isaac Newton (detail) by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "The Ladies Churchill, 18th Century by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "The Female Form with Astrological Symbols, Illustration from")
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.jpg "John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, Commander in the War of the Spanish Succession, Victories Over the French Armies in Blenheim by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Catherine Lucy by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Gentleman, Standing Half Length, Wearing a Red Velvet Jacket and a Brown Cloak in a Park by Godfrey Kneller")
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 (see also 194650) - (MeisterDrucke-164644).jpg "Portrait of Queen Mary by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller")
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_1696_(mezzotint)_-_(MeisterDrucke-275310).jpg "Henricus Aldrich, engraved by John Smith, 1696 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Samuel Garth, MD by Godfrey Kneller")
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 Austrian military commander in Spain during the War of The Spanish Succession - (MeisterDrucke-76815).jpg "Field Marshall Count Guidobald von Starhemberg (1654-1737), Austrian military commander in Spain during the War of The Spanish Succession by Godfrey Kneller")
 Austrian military commander in Spain during the War of The Spanish Succession - (MeisterDrucke-76815).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-312677).jpg "William, Duke of Gloucester, pub. 1902 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John Lord Somers, Lord High Chancellor of England by Godfrey Kneller")
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 second wife of 1 - (MeisterDrucke-284624).jpg "Portrait of Angelina Magdalena, second wife of 1st Viscount St. John in coronation robes, 1727 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Henry, 3rd Lord Arundell of Wardour, Holding a Baton as Master of the Horse by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Joseph Addison, 1748 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "James Stanhope, Earl Stanhope by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1081199).jpg "Portrait of George I, King of Great Britain (1660-1727) by Godfrey Kneller")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1081199).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-248712).jpg "Portrait of James VII of Scotland, II of England (1633-1701) engraved by George Vertue by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1645097).jpg "Portrait of Lady Catherine Seymour by Godfrey Kneller")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1645097).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-606656).jpg "Portrait of Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (1688-1765) by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "King William III by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Godfrey Kneller, from")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-280380).jpg "Sir Richard Steele by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Elizabeth Skipwith, Lady Craven, three-quarter-length, in a blue dress and red shawl, a wooded river landscape beyond, 1704 by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376609).jpg "Portrait of a Lady by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-311086).jpg "Francis Godolphin, Earl of Godolphin by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Henry Boyle, Lord Carleton engraved by Jacobus Houbraken, 1740 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of King George I by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Roger L")
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.jpg "Queen Mary II by Godfrey Kneller")
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_Countess_of_Warwick_c1690-1723_(oil_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376664).jpg "Portrait of Charlotte Myddleton, Countess of Warwick by Godfrey Kneller")
_Countess_of_Warwick_c1690-1723_(oil_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376664).jpg)
.jpg "Henry Clinton, Earl of Lincoln by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John Vaughan, Earl of Carbery by Godfrey Kneller")
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_in_the_robes_of_the_Order_-_(MeisterDrucke-1028672).jpg "Portrait of Charles II of England in the Robes of the Order of the Garter by Godfrey Kneller")
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 engraved by Simon - (MeisterDrucke-272560).jpg "James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde (1610-88), engraved by Simon Francois Ravenet (1706-74) by Godfrey Kneller")
 engraved by Simon - (MeisterDrucke-272560).jpg)
.jpg "Mr Thomas Betterton, Actor by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "William Congreve, Esquire by Godfrey Kneller")
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_from_Illustrations_of_English_and_Scottish_History_Volum_-_(MeisterDrucke-109258).jpg "William III (1650-1702) from")
_from_Illustrations_of_English_and_Scottish_History_Volum_-_(MeisterDrucke-109258).jpg)
.jpg "James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, engraved by Louis du Guernier II by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_Portrait_of_George_I_of_Great_-_(MeisterDrucke-941464).jpg "Portrait of George I of Great Britain by Godfrey Kneller")
_-_Portrait_of_George_I_of_Great_-_(MeisterDrucke-941464).jpg)
_by_Gottfried_Kneller_(1646-1726)_-_(MeisterDrucke-970816).jpg "The Philosopher in Meditation by Godfrey Kneller")
_by_Gottfried_Kneller_(1646-1726)_-_(MeisterDrucke-970816).jpg)
.jpg "Portrait of King Charles II by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Admiral Sir John Norris by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-974576).jpg "John Scrope, Recorder of Bristol by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Edmond Bury Godfrey by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Lady Jane Jackson by Godfrey Kneller")
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 1711 - (MeisterDrucke-67241).jpg "Portrait of Sir Richard Steele (1711) by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "The execution of King Charles I before the Banqueting House, Whitehall, 30 January 1649 by Godfrey Kneller")
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_engraved_by_Jacobus_Houbraken_(1698-1780)_-_(MeisterDrucke-95010).jpg "Frederick, Duke of Schomberg (1615-90) engraved by Jacobus Houbraken (1698-1780) by Godfrey Kneller")
_engraved_by_Jacobus_Houbraken_(1698-1780)_-_(MeisterDrucke-95010).jpg)
_c1721_(oil_painting)_-_(MeisterDrucke-1507776).jpg "Edmond Halley, Astronomer Royal (1656-1746) by Godfrey Kneller")
_c1721_(oil_painting)_-_(MeisterDrucke-1507776).jpg)
 of Orange - (MeisterDrucke-150505).jpg "Portrait of William III of Orange by Godfrey Kneller")
 of Orange - (MeisterDrucke-150505).jpg)
.jpg "Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Francis Lord Bishop of Rochester by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Thomas Burnet by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John, Lord Somers, Engraved by John Golder by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Carey Fraser, Countess of Peterborough by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Arthur Maynwaring, Esquire by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Prince James Stuart as a baby by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Thomas Wharton, Marquis of Wharton by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Elizabeth Barry by Godfrey Kneller")
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 second wife of 1 - (MeisterDrucke-278028).jpg "Portrait of Angelina Magdalena, second wife of 1st Viscount St. John by Godfrey Kneller")
 second wife of 1 - (MeisterDrucke-278028).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1636617).jpg "Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton by Godfrey Kneller")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1636617).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-238300).jpg "Charles Montagu, Earl of Halifax by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "William III on a Grey Charger Observed by Neptune, Ceres and Flora. Mercury in the Sky and Astrea by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Charles Dartiquenave, Esquire by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1084384).jpg "Portrait of Charles Calvert by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Unknown Image by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Anthony Henley, before 1694 by Godfrey Kneller")
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_engraved_by_William_Home_Lizars_(1788-1859)_for_Sloa_-_(MeisterDrucke-301808).jpg "Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753) engraved by William Home Lizars for Sloane")
_engraved_by_William_Home_Lizars_(1788-1859)_for_Sloa_-_(MeisterDrucke-301808).jpg)
.jpg "Charles Talbot, Duke of Shrewsbury by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough by Godfrey Kneller")
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