Kneller, Sir Godfrey (1646-1723), was a German-born painter famous for his portraits of the monarchs of Europe and of other important people of his time. Critics consider his best works to be a series of over 40 portraits of the members of the Kit-Cat Club, a group of several leading Englishmen of the day.
Kneller was born on Aug. 8, 1646, at Lubeck, in Germany, and was originally named Gottfried Kniller. He studied under the Dutch painter Ferdinand Bol, a pupil of the great Dutch painter Rembrandt, in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, and then went to Rome for further study. Kneller settled in England in 1674 and became court painter to King Charles II in 1680. He remained outside the political turmoils of his times, maintaining good relations with each of the monarchs under whom he lived. He thus became the dominant court and society painter in England, a position he held for decades. In 1711, he opened his Academy of Drawing and Painting. Kneller was knighted by King William III in 1692 and made a baronet by King George I in 1715. Kneller died in London on Oct. 19, 1723.
