Godfrey Kneller’s earliest paintings are datable to the mid to late-1660s when Dutch artists, such as Frans Hals and Rembrandt, were producing their last masterpieces. During these years, Kneller was located in the Netherlands where he attended Leiden University and studied art under Ferdinand Bol–one of Rembrandt’s most successful pupils. As this painting shows, Kneller trained in the tradition of the school of Rembrandt, and it is likely that Bol took Kneller to visit the master’s studio.