Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (1688-1765) politician and courtier

Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646 - 1723)

Oil on canvas

1719

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  • About the work
    Location
    Country: UK
    City: London
    Place: Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House
    Lionel Sackville, First Duke of Dorset is depicted wearing his state robes. Around his neck is a ‘collar’, which hangs across the shoulders and was made from gold knots alternated with enamelled roses, each rose surrounded by a blue garter. An enamelled, three-dimensional figure of St. George slaying the dragon, is suspended from this collar and together they indicate the Dukes’s membership of the Order of the Garter, the highest English order of chivalry. A hat decorated with some ostrich feathers rest on the table beside the Duke.

    Identical garments and pose are seen in another work by the painter Godfrey Kneller: a portrait of King George II, when Prince of Wales, painted just three years earlier and now in the Royal Collection. A full-length version of the Duke, also by Kneller is at Knole near Sevenoaks, Kent. However, in the Knole version, the Duke holds the plumed hat in his right hand. 

    Dorset had first been painted by Kneller aged about seven, in a double portrait with his sister, Lady Mary, Duchess of Beaufort, also in the collection at Knole. The painting shows the children with a dog and a doe.
  • About the artist
    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.
  • Explore
    People
    Lionel Cranfield, 1st Duke of Dorset Sackville (1688 - 1765)
    Places
    Subjects
    male portrait, man, 18th century costume, ceremonial costume, robe, wig, lace jabot, riband, tassel, feather (fashion accessory), ribbon (as Subject - costume accessory), livery collar, Order of the Garter, Duke, sword, table cloth, table (as Subject)
    Materials & Techniques
    canvas, oil, oil painting
  • Details
    Artist
    Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646 - 1723)
    Title
    Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (1688-1765) politician and courtier
    Date
    1719
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    height: 127.50 cm, width: 101.50 cm
    Acquisition
    Probably presented by C R FitzGerald, late 19th century
    Inscription
    cr: GKneller...[indecipherable] tr: [Coat of Arms] Ao AE 31 / AD 1719
    Provenance
    Collection of Home Office official C. R. FitzGerald by 1868; by whom presented to the Office of Works during the late nineteenth century
    GAC number
    0/587