called The Howard Children

Although these young siblings are staged to appear almost like miniature Greek gods, there is a playful element to the portrait that captures the contrasts of their personalities and hints at the family loyalty that binds them. Where the young boy on the right bustles with barely restrained energy, his sister is a model of serenity. With his red cloak swathed like a force field around him, the boy steps forward unhindered, while his sister sits patiently holding a pet spaniel in her lap, a symbol of fidelity. She gently controls the animal despite the tempting, outstretched hand of her brother, commanding its attention. Dressed in a rich ultramarine blue, the girl’s contemplative pose mimics that of many female sitters of the time, a quiet good nature implied by her poise and the gentle tilt of her head. Brimming with life and noble character, the portrait conveys the security of the family’s legacy. 

German-born Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723) followed in a distinguished line of European painters, including Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) and Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641), who dominated portraiture in England for most of the seventeenth century. Kneller picked up the mantle of king’s painter from Peter Lely (1618–80) and succeeded in painting the court and society over five reigns, from King Charles II (1630–85) to George I (1660– 1727), who made him a baronet. Trained in Amsterdam by Ferdinand Bol (1616–80), who was a pupil of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–69), Kneller travelled to Italy and then on to London in 1676 in search of Van Dyck and, in his own words ‘being most ambitious of imitating that great Master’. Once established in London, he developed a style that favoured an idealised, classical approach. This can be seen in the boy’s dynamic contrapposto pose in this portrait, a stance that derives from ancient Greek and Roman statues where figures stand with their weight on one leg to produce a rhythmic curve throughout the body. Favoured by kings and queens, Kneller would have been the natural choice for any aristocratic family portrait. When it was bequeathed to Dulwich Picture Gallery by the British collector and dealer Charles Fairfax Murray (1849–1919), this portrait was thought to depict children from the aristocratic Howard family, who held the title of the Earls of Carlisle from 1660. However, it has not yet been possible to match the ages of these children – painted in 1694 – with this branch of the Howard family. Even so, the depiction of their childhood bond is captivating.