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")
 1702 - (MeisterDrucke-273368).jpg)
 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 "Queen Anne and William, Duke of Gloucester by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John Locke, English Philosopher by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Bishop Trelawny, one of the Seven Bishops who petitioned against James II")
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 of Orange (see also 194651) - (MeisterDrucke-197335).jpg "Portrait of William III of Orange by Godfrey Kneller")
 of Orange (see also 194651) - (MeisterDrucke-197335).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-312970).jpg "Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough and Lady Fitzharding, pub. 1902 by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-312677).jpg "William, Duke of Gloucester, pub. 1902 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Isaac Newton (detail) by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Woman as St. Agnes, Traditionally Identified as Catherine Voss by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-37103).jpg "Sir John Vanbrugh (engraving) by Godfrey Kneller")
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 1687 - (MeisterDrucke-195734).jpg "Portrait of Sir Charles Sedley (1639-1701) 1687 by Godfrey Kneller")
 1687 - (MeisterDrucke-195734).jpg)
.jpg "Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford by Godfrey Kneller")
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_English_mathematician_physicist_and_astrono_-_(MeisterDrucke-1103903).jpg "Portrait of Isaac Newton, English mathematician, physicist and astronomer by Godfrey Kneller")
_English_mathematician_physicist_and_astrono_-_(MeisterDrucke-1103903).jpg)
.jpg "Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Medal 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 "Self-Portrait by Godfrey Kneller")
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 of Orange - (MeisterDrucke-150505).jpg "Portrait of William III of Orange by Godfrey Kneller")
 of Orange - (MeisterDrucke-150505).jpg)
 engraved by James Posselwhite (1798-1884) pub by William Mackenzie - (MeisterDrucke-208112).jpg "Portrait of John Locke engraved by James Posselwhite by Godfrey Kneller")
 engraved by James Posselwhite (1798-1884) pub by William Mackenzie - (MeisterDrucke-208112).jpg)
.jpg "William III by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Brigadier-General Lord William Hay of Newham by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Queen Mary at Kensington Palace, engraved for Harrison")
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 1711 - (MeisterDrucke-67241).jpg "Portrait of Sir Richard Steele (1711) by Godfrey Kneller")
 1711 - (MeisterDrucke-67241).jpg)
.jpg "The Female Form with Astrological Symbols, Illustration from")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1645618).jpg "Portrait of Grace Strode, later the Hon. Mrs. Henry Thynne by Godfrey Kneller")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-65574).jpg "Portrait of King William III (1650-1702) by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Peter the Great (Peter I of Russia) by Godfrey Kneller")
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 1711 - (MeisterDrucke-107544).jpg "Portrait of Sir Christopher Wren, 1711 by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-311086).jpg "Francis Godolphin, Earl of Godolphin by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1553956).jpg "King James II (1633–1701) by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John Radcliffe, engraved by H. Cook, from")
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.jpg "King George I 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")
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.jpg "The Ladies Churchill, 18th Century by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Joseph Addison 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)
.jpg "Portrait of King George II When Prince of Wales, Full Length, Wearing State Robes and the Collar of the Order of the Garter, Holding His Sword in His Left Hand, and His Coronet on a Table Beside Him, in an Interior by Godfrey Kneller")
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_in_his_coronation_robes_1727_-_(MeisterDrucke-255577).jpg "Portrait of Henry, 1st Viscount St. John (1652-1742) in His Coronation Robes, 1727 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 "King George I 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 "Mary II by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Theodore Colladon by Godfrey Kneller")
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 - (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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_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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_Oil_on_canvas_-_(MeisterDrucke-1506572).jpg "Portrait of Vice Admiral John Benbow by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of King George I of Great Britain by Godfrey Kneller")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-160292).jpg "Sir Samuel Garth by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of King George I by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1084384).jpg "Portrait of Charles Calvert by Godfrey Kneller")
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 Duke of Lauzun after a painting by Peter Lely (1618-80) - (MeisterDrucke-114402).jpg "Antoine-Nomper de Caumont (1633-1723) Duke of Lauzun, after a painting by Peter Lely by Godfrey Kneller")
 Duke of Lauzun after a painting by Peter Lely (1618-80) - (MeisterDrucke-114402).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-161412).jpg "Grinling Gibbons by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "King Charles II by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Sir John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, Field Marshal & Diplomat (1673-1747) by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Laurence Hyde, Earl of Rochester by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Children of the Howard Family by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Lucretia by Godfrey Kneller")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-280380).jpg "Sir Richard Steele by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376609).jpg "Portrait of a Lady by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Lady Anne Tufton by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton by Godfrey Kneller")
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_by_Gottfried_Kneller_(1646-1726)_-_(MeisterDrucke-970816).jpg "The Philosopher in Meditation by Godfrey Kneller")
_by_Gottfried_Kneller_(1646-1726)_-_(MeisterDrucke-970816).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1502491).jpg "Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) 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")
 second wife of 1 - (MeisterDrucke-284624).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1081199).jpg "Portrait of George I, King of Great Britain (1660-1727) by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, engraved by Louis du Guernier II by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough 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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.jpg "Alexander Pope Profile, Crowned with Ivy by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "King George I 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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pa_-_(MeisterDrucke-941370).jpg "Portrait of the Violinist and Composer Nicola Matteis by Godfrey Kneller")
pa_-_(MeisterDrucke-941370).jpg)
.jpg "Portrait of King James II 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 "Samuel Pepys, English Naval Administrator and Member of Parliament by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "King James II by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "King George I by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Georg Ludwig von Hannover by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Roger L")
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.jpg "Portrait of William Cavendish by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "The Howard Children by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Queen Anne by Godfrey Kneller")
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_(1633-1701)_Painting_by_G_-_(MeisterDrucke-984599).jpg "Portrait of King James II of England by Godfrey Kneller")
_(1633-1701)_Painting_by_G_-_(MeisterDrucke-984599).jpg)
 - (MeisterDrucke-186642).jpg "Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, pub. 1902 by Godfrey Kneller")
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_c1666-91_(oil_on_canvas)_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376588).jpg "Portrait of Henry 4th Lord Herbert of Cherbury by Godfrey Kneller")
_c1666-91_(oil_on_canvas)_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376588).jpg)
.jpg "Portrait of William, Lord Digby, 1715 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Catherine Noel, Countess of Rutland by Godfrey Kneller")
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_1696_(mezzotint)_-_(MeisterDrucke-275310).jpg "Henricus Aldrich, engraved by John Smith, 1696 by Godfrey Kneller")
_1696_(mezzotint)_-_(MeisterDrucke-275310).jpg)
.jpg "King Charles II by Godfrey Kneller")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-44830).jpg "Portrait of Alexander Pope by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-94883).jpg "Theophilus Hastings, seventh earl of Huntingdon by Godfrey Kneller")
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 1721 - (MeisterDrucke-148319).jpg "Mr Addison, engraved by George Vertue, 1721 by Godfrey Kneller")
 1721 - (MeisterDrucke-148319).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-974576).jpg "John Scrope, Recorder of Bristol by Godfrey Kneller")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-974576).jpg)
.jpg "Henry Purcell by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Roger Palmer, illustration from")
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.jpg "Henry Portman Seymour by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1088896).jpg "Portrait of King George I of Great Britain by Godfrey Kneller")
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1088896).jpg)
.jpg "Portrait of Sir Jonathan Trelawny by Godfrey Kneller")
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