KNELLER, Sir Godfrey
German-born English Baroque Era Painter, 1646-1723
English painter and draughtsman of German birth. He was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th century and the early 18th, and, as such, the chief recorder of court society for almost 40 years. He popularized the kit-cat format for portraits and was also the founding governor in 1711 of the first proper academy of art in England. His older brother Johann [John] Zachary Kneller (b L?beck, 1642; d London, 1702), with whom he was close, was also a painter; his works include watercolour miniatures and still-lifes,
ID: 74678 Portrait of King George I "Portrait of King George I," by Sir Godfrey Kneller. Oil on canvas. This portrait was the first gift of art to Yale University, and was donated by the English merchant Elihu Yale, for whom Yale College was named. Courtesy of the Yale University Art Gallery, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
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