James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope

Godfrey Kneller's portrait of James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope of 1707 depicts the British general and statesman who would later serve as Secretary of State under George I and was a primary architect of the Triple Alliance of 1717 that maintained European stability after the War of the Spanish Succession. Kneller was the dominant portrait painter of Britain from the Restoration to the early Georgian period, and his treatment of military men combined formal studio convention with sufficient psychological observation to suggest the intelligence and energy of his subjects.

Kneller renders the statesman with the fluent, assured technique that made him the most prolific and influential portrait painter in early 18th-century England. The dignified pose and the careful rendering of the wig and costume follow established conventions of aristocratic portraiture.