The faces of the English Enlightenment

The portrait as the record of a generation

This room brings together portraits painted between the late 1600s and the mid-eighteenth century: scientists, writers, musicians and artists who together form the collective portrait of an English generation convinced that reason could explain everything — from universal gravitation to human nature. The museum itself sums up the room under the heading "Art, Science and Society, 1660-1760."

1. Newton, gravitation made visible

The portrait of Sir Isaac Newton by Sir Godfrey Kneller, painted in 1702 within a feigned oval, shows the scientist shortly after the publication of his great discoveries on universal gravitation and optics. Kneller, official portraitist to several successive monarchs, paints Newton with the same composed dignity as his royal portraits — a choice that speaks volumes about the social prestige already attained by scientists of this generation.

2. Hogarth paints himself, between his dog and his books

William Hogarth paints his own self-portrait around 1757-1758, late in his career — the very year he is named official painter to King George II. He shows himself painting Thalia, the muse of comedy, surrounded by a dog and bound volumes, a way of claiming a place within the learned tradition rather than the less prestigious one, at the time, of the mere artisan-painter. X-ray analysis has revealed that the original composition included a detail Hogarth ultimately removed: his dog urinating on a stack of old-master paintings — a private joke about his own ambivalent relationship to academic painting.

3. Locke and Swift, philosophy and satire

The portrait of John Locke by Michael Dahl, painted around 1693, shows the philosopher whose theories on knowledge and civil government would directly influence the American and French revolutions a century later.

Nearby, the portrait of Jonathan Swift, from the studio of Charles Jervas after an original of 1709-1710, shows the author of Gulliver's Travels in the same oval format as Newton — a presentational convention that visually unifies figures from very different fields: science, philosophy, literary satire.

4. Wren and Handel, the architect and the musician

The portrait of Sir Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller, painted in 1711, shows the architect at seventy-nine, compasses in hand resting on a plan of St Paul's Cathedral — the building he designed after the Great Fire of London of 1666, then nearing completion under the reign of Queen Anne. Kneller paints here, as with Newton, a scientist turned figure of state.

The portrait of George Frideric Handel by Balthasar Denner, painted between 1726 and 1728 within a feigned oval, is considered the earliest known portrait of the composer. Denner, a painter from Hamburg like Handel himself, stayed in London from August 1726 to July 1728 — a window that matches the painting's dating exactly. A recent restoration revealed, beneath the highly stylised wig conforming to the conventions of the time, a surprisingly shrewd and direct face.

5. Sloane and Hobbes, the collection and the social contract

The portrait of Sir Hans Sloane by Stephen Slaughter, painted in 1736, shows the physician and collector seated in the president's chair of the Royal Society, the society's ceremonial mace beside him, holding a drawing from his own botanical publication depicting a plant brought back from Jamaica. It was Sloane's personal collection of curiosities, specimens and manuscripts, amassed over a lifetime and bequeathed to the nation on his death in 1753, that became the founding holdings of the British Museum.

The portrait of Thomas Hobbes by John Michael Wright, painted around 1669-1670, shows the philosopher at about eighty years old, more than twenty years after the publication of Leviathan (1651), the book that laid the foundations of modern social contract theory. Wright paints an old man with a still-sharp gaze, in a stripped-down bust format that leaves all the room to the face rather than to the trappings of office.

6. Boyle and Halley, two founders of modern science

The portrait of Robert Boyle, after Johann Kerseboom (oil on canvas, about 127 × 103.5 cm, based on a work of around 1689-1690), shows a pioneer of modern chemistry and a founder member of the Royal Society, most famous for Boyle’s Law of the pressure and volume of gases. His commitment to experimentation and meticulous observation resulted in many important discoveries. The portrait refers to his wealthy, aristocratic background and scholarly interests through the richly decorated room, the black academic gown and the book. The museum also notes that Boyle’s theory that black skin was a degenerate version of white skin was used to justify slavery; he became increasingly uncomfortable with the cruelty that followed, but never questioned the existence of the slave trade.

The portrait of Edmond Halley, by Richard Phillips (oil on canvas, feigned oval, before 1722, 75 × 62 cm), shows the astronomer mainly remembered for the comet named after him. His wide-ranging work also included the design of a diving suit with its own air supply. Elected to the Royal Society at the age of 22 for his pioneering astronomical discoveries, he visited Newton in 1684 to discuss planetary orbits; that discussion led to the publication of the Principia, which Halley cajoled into being, funded and saw through the press. Without him, one of the most influential books in the history of science might never have been published.

How much time

A room dense with famous names, but often modest-sized paintings — allow a little over an hour for all ten portraits.

Background on the room ("Art, Science and Society") — 5 minutes.
Sir Isaac Newton (Kneller) — 7 minutes.
Hogarth's self-portrait — 7 minutes.
John Locke (Dahl) — 6 minutes.
Jonathan Swift (studio of Jervas) — 6 minutes.
Sir Christopher Wren (Kneller) — 7 minutes.
George Frideric Handel (Denner) — 7 minutes.
Sir Hans Sloane (Slaughter) — 6 minutes.
Thomas Hobbes (Wright) — 6 minutes.
Robert Boyle (after Kerseboom) — 5 minutes.
Edmond Halley (Phillips) — 5 minutes.

Sources and verification

Checked against the official notices of the National Portrait Gallery (npg.org.uk) and cross-checked with Wikipedia EN/FR.

Displays and room openings can change. Check the National Portrait Gallery website on the day of your visit before following a route.

Continue your visit

National Portrait Gallery, London

The portrait that invented royal propaganda Elizabeth I’s Ditchley portrait, and Holbein’s Thomas Cromwell. The Churchill portrait his wife destroyed A burned Churchill portrait, and Bacon’s small triptych of Lucian Freud.

Listen to the commentary in the gallery

This route gives you a thread to follow. In front of an artwork, CulturAll adds the audio commentary: photograph the work or its label, listen, then ask your questions.