Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; August 8, 1646 – October 19, 1723) is the leading portrait painter in England during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and is court painter to English and British monarchs from Charles II to George I.
His major works include The Chinese Convert (1687; Royal Collection, London); a series of four portraits of Isaac Newton painted at various junctures of the latter's life; a series of ten reigning European monarchs, including King Louis XIV of France; over forty "Kit-cat portraits" of members of the Kit-Cat Club; and ten "beauties" of the court of William III, to match a similar series of ten beauties of the court of Charles II painted by his predecessor as court painter, Sir Peter Lely.
