Which painter made the 1689 Portrait of Isaac Newton?

Godfrey Kneller painted the 1689 Portrait of Isaac Newton. The oil-on-canvas work shows Newton in his forties and became one of the most recognizable images of the mathematician and natural philosopher.

Kneller was a German-born painter who built his career in England and became one of the leading portraitists of the late Stuart and early Georgian periods. He served as a court painter and portrayed monarchs, politicians, scientists, and other prominent figures. His Newton portrait captures the sitter without the elaborate wig often associated with elite seventeenth-century fashion.

The 1689 painting was not the only portrait Kneller made of Newton. A later 1702 portrait became more famous during Newton’s lifetime, while the 1689 work remained comparatively private. Wider public attention came in the nineteenth century through photography, copying, and engraving. Peter Lely, Joshua Reynolds, and William Hogarth were important English artists, but none painted this specific 1689 portrait.