An unusual painting by Kneller for the Fitzwilliam Museum

3/2/26 - Acquisition - Cambridge, The Fitzwilliam Museum - Famous for his portraits, Godfrey Kneller also painted a few rare religious works. One of them has joined the collections of the Fitzwilliam Museum, thanks to an acceptance in lieu. It comes from the collection of Huttleston Broughton, first Baron Fairhaven (1896-1966), who was a patron of the museum.
This small painting, executed on copper in 1686, was made for a Catholic sympathizer under the reign of James Stuart, who became in 1685 James II of England and Ireland and James VII of Scotland. He, eager for greater tolerance toward the Catholic faith in Great Britain, and himself a convert, was responsible for the Declaration of Indulgence in 1687.

Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723)
The Crucifixion, with the Virgin…