Sir Godfrey Kneller, an English portrait painter, born in Lubeck, Germany, in 1648, died in London in October, 1723. He was instructed in painting by Rembrandt and Ferdinand Bol in Amsterdam, and afterward in Rome by Carlo Maratti and Bernini, and gained some reputation in Italy, particularly in Venice, for historical compositions. He arrived in London in 1674, and, having obtained an introduction to the king through the duke of Monmouth, was permitted to paint the royal likeness. The manner in which this was executed procured him abundant employment. Upon the death of Sir Peter Lely he was appointed court painter to Charles II., an honor confirmed by each successive sovereign during the life of the artist. He was knighted by William III., and painted the beauties of his court (which are considered much inferior to Sir Peter Lely's beauties of the court of Charles II.), and was made a baronet by George I. He painted no fewer than ten sovereigns, and an immense number of lesser celebrities. So numerous were his commissions that he was frequently only able to finish the faces of his portraits, leaving the draperies and accessories to be painted by others. He was a covetous man, and acquired considerable wealth.

His portraits possess greater value as likenesses of historical personages than as works of art. He is said to have left at his death 500 unfinished portraits on which he had received half the price in advance.