Johannes Locke
After Sir Godfrey Kneller German
Engraver John Smith British
Sitter John Locke British
Not on view
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.
