Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham and 7th Earl of Winchilsea

Sitterback to top

• Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham and 7th Earl of Winchilsea (1647-1730), Statesman. Sitter associated with 7 portraits.

Artistback to top

• Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt (1646-1723), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 1666 portraits, Sitter associated with 30 portraits.

This portraitback to top

We don't know why Kneller made this unusual oil study showing three views of the unwigged head of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham and 7th Earl of Winchilsea. Perhaps it was painted to guide a sculptor making a portrait of the Tory statesman. Or maybe Kneller was experimenting with the concepts of two and three dimensionality. Paint, of course, is a flat medium. It cannot provide the depth and view-points of 3D sculpture, but it does provide life-like colouring which sculpture usually lacks.

Linked publicationsback to top

• Ingamells, John, Later Stuart Portraits 1685-1714, 2009, p. 339
• Piper, David, The English Face, 1992, p. 126
• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 669

Subject/Themeback to top

• Beningbrough Hall