Talk:Godfrey Kneller
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Below text from article at Sir Godfrey Kneller; put here in case it has anything that should be incorporated into the Godfrey Kneller article. -- Infrogmation 00:36, 29 Feb 2004 (UTC).
Sir Godfrey Kneller, (real name Gottfried Kniller) like his contemporary Sir Peter Lely was a portrait painter and was also German-born. Kneller himself, born in the town of Lübeck but again Dutch trained later settled in England in the year 1676.
Kneller was the greatest master of the English baroque portrait successfully competing with and then succeeding Sir Peter Lely as Court painter to four sovereigns, he dominated English art for more than thirty years.
His talent was greatly admired and officially recognized. Appointed Principal Painter to William III and Mary II in 1689, he initially held this position jointly with John Riley. His knighthood three years later was followed in 1715 by a baronetcy, the first to be conferred on a painter.
Although concerned mostly with his own career, he patronized young artists and looked after their training. In 1711 he founded the Academy of Painting in London and became its first governor.
