Portrait of a Young Man (Sir John Van Brugh?)

Godfrey Kneller was the dominant portrait painter of late 17th and early 18th-century England, succeeding Peter Lely as Principal Painter to the monarch and producing an enormous output of court and aristocratic portraits. This early work tentatively identified as Sir John Vanbrugh — the architect and playwright — dates from relatively early in Kneller's English career, when he was establishing himself after training in Amsterdam and Italy. Kneller's portraits of creative figures such as Vanbrugh are among his most psychologically penetrating.

The sitter is depicted in informal dress with a relaxed, intelligent bearing contrasting with the stiff formality of Kneller's official portraits. The face is modeled with direct observation, and the handling of wig and costume is confident without being labored.