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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 1st Duke of Marlborough - (MeisterDrucke-52771).jpg "Portrait of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough by Godfrey Kneller")
 1st Duke of Marlborough - (MeisterDrucke-52771).jpg)
 1702 - (MeisterDrucke-273368).jpg "Portrait of Isaac Newton (1642-1727) 1702 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Isaac Newton 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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.jpg "Alexander Pope, pub. 1716 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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.jpg "Lady with a Dog and a Parrot, 17th century 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 "Face of a man, three-quarters, looking directly at viewer, possibly a self-portrait 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 "Portrait of Queen Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland 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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.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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 1711 - (MeisterDrucke-107544).jpg "Portrait of Sir Christopher Wren, 1711 by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1636617).jpg "Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton 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 William, Lord Digby, 1715 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 "Carey Fraser, Countess of Peterborough by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Richard Lumley, Earl of Scarborough by Godfrey Kneller")
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_late_17th_to_early_18th_century_(oil_painti_-_(MeisterDrucke-1500145).jpg "Admiral George Churchill, late 17th to early 18th century by Godfrey Kneller")
_late_17th_to_early_18th_century_(oil_painti_-_(MeisterDrucke-1500145).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-312677).jpg "William, Duke of Gloucester, pub. 1902 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Catherine Noel, Countess of Rutland by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Prince James Stuart as a baby 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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_late_17th_to_early_18th_century_(oil_-_(MeisterDrucke-1505833).jpg "Vice-Admiral John Graydon (circa 1666-1726) by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John Churchill, 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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_-_(MeisterDrucke-261823).jpg "Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, pub. 1902 by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1084384).jpg "Portrait of Charles Calvert by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Barbara Palmer, Duchess of Cleveland by Godfrey Kneller")
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 Illustration for the Universal Magazine 1748 - (MeisterDrucke-140553).jpg "Joseph Addison, Esquire (1672-1719) Illustration for the Universal Magazine by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Joseph Harwar, President of Magdalen College 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)
_actor_painting_by_Godfrey_Kneller_(1646_-_(MeisterDrucke-1120109).jpg "Portrait of Thomas Betterton by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Joseph Addison by Godfrey Kneller")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-130606).jpg "Portrait of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough by Godfrey Kneller")
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 1687 - (MeisterDrucke-195734).jpg "Portrait of Sir Charles Sedley (1639-1701) 1687 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John, Lord Somers, Engraved by John Golder by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Admiral Sir John Norris 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)
.jpg "Lady Jane Jackson 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")
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.jpg "Portrait of King George I by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Queen Mary II by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Thomas Wharton, Marquis of Wharton 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")
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.jpg "King William and Queen Mary by Godfrey Kneller")
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_c1663-1708_(oil_on_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376644).jpg "Portrait of Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford by Godfrey Kneller")
_c1663-1708_(oil_on_-_(MeisterDrucke-1376644).jpg)
 1st Earl of Godolphin engraved and published by John Smith (1652-1743) 1707 (mezzotint) - (MeisterDrucke-104140).jpg "Portrait of Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, engraved and published by John Smith by Godfrey Kneller")
 1st Earl of Godolphin engraved and published by John Smith (1652-1743) 1707 (mezzotint) - (MeisterDrucke-104140).jpg)
.jpg "John Lord Somers, Lord High Chancellor of England by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "King William III 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 "Queen Anne by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Frederick Duke of Schonberg, Marquis of Harwich, Earl of Bransford by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Joseph Addison, 1748 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Charles Beauclerk, Duke of St. Albans by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of King George I of Great Britain by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Queen Anne and William, Duke of Gloucester by Godfrey Kneller")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-151612).jpg "Portrait of Grinling Gibbons by Godfrey Kneller")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-303525).jpg "John, Baron Somers, P.R.S. by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Sir Roger L")
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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 "Portrait of John Wallis by Godfrey Kneller")
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 - (MeisterDrucke-280380).jpg "Sir Richard Steele by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "John Radcliffe, engraved by H. Cook, from")
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.jpg "John Tidcomb, Esquire by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "A Geographer by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Henry Clinton, Earl of Lincoln by Godfrey Kneller")
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 engraved by PWTomkins - (MeisterDrucke-109920).jpg "William Congreve, engraved by P.W. Tomkins by Godfrey Kneller")
 engraved by PWTomkins - (MeisterDrucke-109920).jpg)
.jpg "Charles Talbot, Duke of Shrewsbury 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")
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.jpg "Portrait of Sir Edward Warner, Governor of the Tower, as a Knee Piece by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Georg Ludwig von Hannover by Godfrey Kneller")
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_being_Archduke_Charles_-_(MeisterDrucke-1553861).jpg "Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI (1685-1740), Being Archduke Charles by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-312970).jpg "Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough and Lady Fitzharding, pub. 1902 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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 - (MeisterDrucke-44830).jpg "Portrait of Alexander Pope by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Mrs. Langdale Smithson by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1507572).jpg "Sir Charles Wager (1666-1743) by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Roger Palmer, illustration from")
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 1721 - (MeisterDrucke-148319).jpg "Mr Addison, engraved by George Vertue, 1721 by Godfrey Kneller")
 1721 - (MeisterDrucke-148319).jpg)
 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 "Thomas Holles Pelham, Duke of Newcastle by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "King James II by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of Anthony Leigh as Father Dominic in The Spanish Friar by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Portrait of William Cavendish, 4th Earl and 1st Duke of Devonshire, c.1690-1710 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, engraved by John Goldar, 1785 by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington by Godfrey Kneller")
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_engraved_by_Jacob_Houbraken_(1_-_(MeisterDrucke-104106).jpg "Portrait of Thomas Marquis of Wharton, engraved by Jacob Houbraken, published by P. Knanton, 1744 by Godfrey Kneller")
_engraved_by_Jacob_Houbraken_(1_-_(MeisterDrucke-104106).jpg)
.jpg "Sir Robert Walpole by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Unknown Image by Godfrey Kneller")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-311086).jpg "Francis Godolphin, Earl of Godolphin by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "King George I of Great Britain and Ireland 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 Charlotte Clayton by Godfrey Kneller")
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.jpg "Charles Dartiquenave, Esquire by Godfrey Kneller")
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