The Artist

Sir Godfrey Kneller had long been associated with the Southwell family having first painted Sir Robert Southwell, Lady Elizabeth’s father­ in-law, at the start of his career in London in 1679. Although it is not known when Kneller first became acquainted with Lady Elizabeth the first portrait of her is thought to have been painted in c. 1699.

This intimate portrait shows Lady Elizabeth in the guise of the Magdalene clasping her hands in prayer at an open bible while looking out to the upper-right of the composition in quiet reflection. The Magdalene was a theme that Kneller revisited throughout his career, including painting his own daughter Catherine Huckle in the guise in a now lost work dating to c. 1702.

The Magdalene had been popular guise chosen by artists to depict Courtly ladies since the 16th century as it made suggestion to the sitter’s piety, grace and dignity. This is reinforced by the way in which Kneller has depicted Lady Elizabeth within a close composition giving the impression that the viewer has interrupted a quite moment of prayer.

This portrait is typical of Kneller’s work created at the turn of the 18th century, the moment in the artist’s career when he is considered at the height of his artistic powers. When Kneller first arrived in Britain in 1676 he rapidly gained popularity with important patrons at Court such asJames, Duke of Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II. As a result of this, the artist started to gain popularity with the fashionable young members of Court often receiving commissions in the place of the King’s Painter in Ordinary, Sir Peter Lely.

The technical mastery seen in this portrait, with the quick impasto brush work and confident composition distinguishes the work from the inferior pictures produced at Kneller’s extensive studio, working at this time to produce copies and versions of works of this quality produced by the great master.

Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt. (1646-1723) was the leading portrait painter of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century England, serving five monarchs from Charles Il to George I. His grand, courtly style combined Baroque splendour with refined restraint, capturing the grace and authority of Britain’s elite. Through his prolific output and enduring influence, Kneller helped define the visual identity of the English court and the age’s artistic ideals.