John Radcliffe

This portrait of John Radcliffe depicts one of the most celebrated physicians of late seventeenth-century England, whose medical practice among London's elite made him the wealthiest doctor of his generation. Radcliffe's patients included William III and Anne, and his posthumous generosity — the Radcliffe Camera in Oxford, the Radcliffe Infirmary, and the endowment of the Radcliffe Observatory — transformed Oxford's physical landscape. Kneller's portrait of this rich and difficult physician captures the self-assured bearing of a man who treated royalty with the same bluntness he showed to ordinary patients. Radcliffe's medical skill and personal fortune gave him an independence rare in his profession.

The portrait presents the physician with dignified authority, Kneller's efficient technique capturing the sitter's confident bearing and prosperous appearance within the conventions of late Baroque English portraiture.