William Congreve (1670-1729) playwright and poet

Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Government Art Collection

The playwright and poet William Congreve wears a wig and velvet coat as he gestures to the English landscape in the background of this mezzotint portrait.

This print, after an original portrait by Godfrey painter Sir Godfrey Kneller, was published in 1733. The original is one of the 48 portraits of members of the Kit-Cat Club (committed to the furtherance of Whig objectives), commissioned from Kneller by founding member Jacob Tonson the elder, a bookseller. The original portrait is now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London. Kneller’s drawing of Congreve’s facial features, made in preparation for the painting, is in the collection of the Courtauld Institute, London.

The plaque on Congreve’s memorial at Westminster Abbey includes a copy of this portrait in relief by sculptor Francis Bird. It was commissioned by Henrietta Godolphin, second Duchess of Marlborough, with whom Congreve fathered a daughter, Mary.

Godfrey Kneller was born in Lübeck, Germany. He moved to Amsterdam in 1662 to study painting under Rembrandt and Ferdinand Bol. He later trained with Gianlorenzo Bernini and Carlo Maratta in Rome. He returned to Lübeck in 1675, before moving to Hamburg and then to London to study the works of van Dyck. In England he received commissions from prominent figures, including Charles II. Charles sent Kneller to France in 1684, to paint the portrait of Louis XIV. Kneller maintained his position at court after the accession of James II in 1685 and, when William and Mary came to the throne, he and portraitist John Riley became joint Principal Painters to the Crown. Following Riley’s death, Kneller alone retained the position. He was 77 when he died.
John Faber I was born at The Hague and worked as a portrait miniaturist in the Netherlands until at least 1696. By 1698 he had settled in London. He began to experiment with mezzotint engraving and, by 1707, established a printselling business in the Strand. Faber produced a wide range of engraved portraits, including those of clergy and Jacobites, and four portraits of Charles I. He also made series of portraits such as ‘Twelve Ancient Philosophers’, after Rubens. From 1711 to 1712 he collaborated with engraver George Vertue on a project to engrave portraits in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and he later made a series of founders of Oxford and Cambridge colleges. His son was engraver John Faber (c.1695-1756). He died in Bristol, aged c.61.

People

William Congreve (1670 - 1729)

Places

Subjects

Congreve, William, male portrait, 18th century costume, coat, wig, coat of arms

Materials & Techniques

mezzotint

Artist

Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646 - 1723)
John, I Faber (c.1660 - 1721)

Title

William Congreve (1670-1729) playwright and poet

Date

1733

Medium

Mezzotint

Acquisition

Purchased from F B Daniell, June 1955

GAC number

3212