Sir Godfrey, a painter whose fame is well established in these kingdoms. He was born at Lubeck in 1648, and received his first instructions in the school of Rembrandt, but became afterwards a disciple of Ferdinand Bol. When he had gained as much knowledge as that school afforded him, he travelled to Rome, where he fixed his particular attention on Titian and the Caracci. He afterwards visited Venice, and distinguished himself so effectually in that city by his historical pictures and his portraits of the noble families there, that his reputation became considerable in Italy. By the advice of some friends he came at last to England, where it was his good fortune to gain the favour of the Duke of Monmouth, by whose recommendation he more than once painted the portrait of King Charles II, who was so pleased with his skill in doing it, that he came to come and sit to him at his house in Covent Garden piazza. The death of Sir Peter Lely left him without a competitor in England, and from that time his fortune and fame were thoroughly establish-

ed. No painter could have more incessant employment, and no painter could be more distinguished by public honour. He was state painter to Charles II, James II, William III, Queen Anne, and George I, and equally esteemed and respected by them all. The Emperor Leopold made him a knight of the Roman empire, and King George I created him a baronet. Most of the nobility and gentry had their likenesses taken by him; and no painter excelled him in a sure outline, or in the graceful disposition of his figures. His works were celebrated by the best poets in his time. He built an elegant house at Whitton, near Hampton Court, where he spent the latter part of his life, and died in 1726.