Portrait Of A Gentleman In A Garden, english school of the 17th century

Godfrey Kneller (Lübeck 1646 - London 1723) circle of
Portrait of a Gentleman in a Garden

Oil on canvas

67 x 47 cm.
Framed 84 x 64 cm.


The painting depicts a nobleman portrayed full-length and dressed in classical garb, braided sandals and seated at the base of a stone fountain; he is immortalised in a luxuriant garden with a vase filled with a rich flowering bouquet and a terracotta vase containing a mandarin plant.

This type of portrait was widespread among the nobility, especially in England, in the 17th and 18th centuries, where the sitter liked to see himself stripped of his trappings, without pompous clothes, fashionable accessories or elaborate hairstyles, to show that his status and worth did not depend solely on opulently displayed material wealth.

In 17th and 18th century England, citrus trees such as the one depicted were often grown in large pots, kept outside during the summer and transported inside again, in heated orangeries, for the winter. Thus, the inclusion of this fruit in this portrait is an indication of the wealth and social status of the man, by virtue of the great difficulty with which it was cultivated.

The painting is therefore to be attributed to an English painter active around the 17th and 18th century, orbiting in particular in the circle of Sir Godfrey Kneller, the official painter of the English court and considered, together with Peter Lely and Willem Wissing, to be among the masters of English portraiture in the 17th and 18th century.

He painted every reigning British ruler, from King Charles II to George I, as well as the most important figures in British society and public life. These works, exhibited in royal palaces, were so admired and appreciated by the public that a large number of patrons, mainly noblemen, wanted his workshop to paint their family portraits.

Below we mention some of his portraits, which like ours show members of the British aristocracy immortalised in lush gardens often accompanied by natural elements such as flowers and plants instead of rich jewellery and precious fabrics. These include, by way of comparison, the portrait of Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (1693), Countess Catherine of Dorchester (1685), John Cecil 5th Earl of Exter (1696), and the portrait of James Cecil, Earl of Salisbury