The Artist

Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723), German by birth, rose to become the foremost portrait painter in late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century England. Serving five monarchs—from Charles II to George I—he developed a grand yet refined courtly style that blended Baroque splendour with an elegant restraint, helping to shape the visual identity of the English court for a generation.

This portrait of James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde (1665–1745) is a fine example of Kneller’s mature work. The Duke, a prominent statesman and military commander, played a central role in the turbulent politics of early eighteenth-century Britain. Painted around 1705, the portrait presents Ormonde at the height of his power, roughly a decade before accusations of High Treason forced him into exile. Kneller’s treatment not only conveys the Duke’s authority but also epitomises the artist’s ability to combine grandeur, poise, and psychological presence.

The Sitter

At the time of the painting, Ormonde will have been fresh off a series of military victories, and this portrait – no doubt commissioned by the Duke himself – shows the subject in all his martial glory. We see the Captain-General standing in front of the field of battle, resplendent in his armour and with his blue Garter Sash.

Ormonde is serene in his heroic pose, even as a skirmish takes place in the background. The skirmish itself is lightly but expertly painted: a horse twists in agony, his rider (in blue) falling from his mount. Nearby a standard is held aloft, below which more men and more horses clash. Plumes of smoke (echoing the white of Ormonde’s wig) rise from the battle, merging into the reddening sky above, as the sun sets on what no doubt has been a successful day’s campaign.

After 1705 Ormonde went on to further military and political triumphs, becoming a key figure in the Tory Ministry of 1710-1714. Yet after Queen Anne’s death, he was implicated in the Jacobite Rising of 1715 and accused of High Treason. He fled the country, spending the remainder of his life in exile, first in Spain and then in France.

Kneller’s portrait of Ormonde serves as a reminder of the sudden swings of history, and indeed of life itself, and how the mighty can soon become the fallen.

Literature: Sir Godfrey Kneller and the English Baroque Portrait, J. Douglas Stewart, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1983.