Johannes Locke
Kneller's portrait of the philosopher John Locke is considered the best likeness of the Englightenment thinker. The artist retained it until 1703, selling it to a London surgeon Alexander Geekie. Sir Robert Walpole hung it in the Common Parlour at Houghton Hall as part of an assemblage of notable, or illustrious, historical figures. In 1779 the painting was part of the group purchased by Catherine the Great and it is now at the Hermitage.
Artwork Details
- Title: Johannes Locke
- Artist: After Sir Godfrey Kneller (German, Lübeck 1646–1723 London)
- Engraver: John Smith (British, Daventry 1652–1743 Northampton)
- Sitter: John Locke (British, Wrington 1632–1704 Oates, Essex)
- Date: 1721
- Medium: Mezzotint; second state
- Dimensions: sheet: 13 3/4 x 9 13/16 in. (35 x 25 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1925
- Object Number: 25.62.31r(b)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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