Sir Godfrey, a celebrated portrait painter, was born at Lubeck in 1648. He studied first in the school of Rembrandt, and on the death of that great master became a pupil of Ferdinand Boe. In due time he set out for Italy to perfect himself in his art. At Rome, and more especially at Venice, he gained himself a considerable name, both by his historical pieces and portraits. During the latter part of his stay he had more commissions than he could execute. Leaving Venice, he settled for a time at Hamburg, where he became even more popular than he had been in Italy. On the invitation of the Duke of Monmouth he crossed over to England, and was introduced to Charles II. The "merry monarch" was so pleased with him that he sat to him for his portrait several times. On the death of Sir Peter Lely he found himself without a rival in England. Appointed court painter by Charles II., he held that office under James II., William III., Anne, and George I. The last named king made him a baronet; the Emperor Leopold I. created him a knight of the Roman empire, and he received similar compliments from other European princes. Till the last his industry continued unaltered; and as he was frugal, even to avarice, he was able to amass a very large fortune. He died in 1723, in his seventy-sixth year.

Kneller's fame, great as it was in his own day, has not very successfully stood the test of time. His colour, always brilliant, is deficient in truthfulness; and a strong mannerism is conspicuous in many of his pictures. From a habit which he had of lengthening the oval of all his heads, there is a kind of monotony throughout his portraits. Though, on the whole, he was quite unequal to his predecessor Lely, many of his separate pieces rival his, both in loveliness of conception and force of colouring. Kneller's works are confined almost entirely to England, not more than one or two specimens having ever found their way abroad. Dr Wangen, in his Art Treasures of Great Britain, gives a list of his best works, with the galleries in which they hang. See PAINTING.