Christopher Wren

Sir Christopher Wren was the greatest English architect of the 17th century, responsible for the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral and fifty-two London churches after the Great Fire of 1666, as well as the Royal Observatory at Greenwich and numerous other major buildings. Kneller's portrait of Wren — showing him as a young man in 1669, before his greatest achievements — captures him at the beginning of his most creative period. This portrait is an important document of Wren's physical appearance at a pivotal moment.

The young Wren is shown with the confident, intelligent bearing of a man at the outset of a distinguished career. Kneller's relatively early English work here shows careful attention to the face and a formal three-quarter pose. Any architectural or scientific attribute references his dual identity as architect and natural philosopher.