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Secondary sourcePainting

Sir Isaac Newton, print after Godfrey Kneller

After Godfrey Kneller

A print copying Godfrey Kneller's portrait of Isaac Newton, showing his appearance with his birth and death dates printed below.

This print, copied from Kneller's portrait of Newton, is a standard later image of his face and life dates.

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Monochrome oval print of a man with long, curly periwig, wearing a dark robe over a white cravat and shirt. An ornate frame of leafy scrollwork surrounds him. A banner below reads 'Sir Isaac Newton' with dates 'Natus A.D. 1642' and 'Obiit A.D. 1726'.
Print after Godfrey Kneller, Sir Isaac Newton. Wellcome Collection, London.

About this source

What it is

This oval print shows a man in a long curly wig and dark robe, framed by decorative scrollwork, with a banner underneath reading his name and the dates of his birth and death. It is based on a portrait painted by Godfrey Kneller and is now held by the Wellcome Collection.

Why it matters

Because it was made after Newton's death and copies an earlier painted portrait, it is a secondary image rather than a direct record from life. It shows how Newton's face became a familiar, repeated image used to honour him as a leading scientist, with his life dates included as part of his public memory.

Look closer

  • What details in the clothing and wig tell you about the fashions of the period this portrait reflects?
  • Why might printmakers keep copying the same portrait of a famous person long after it was first painted?
  • What is missing from this print that a photograph might show instead?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Isaac Newton on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the 1687 first edition of Newton's Principia. Large capitals read PHILOSOPHIÆ NATURALIS PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA, with author credit, Imprimatur by S. Pepys, dated Julii 5, 1686, and London printing by Josephi Streater, Anno MDCLXXXVII.Book

Primary source

Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica

Isaac Newton · 1687

Title page with a page number marked [1] at top, reading PHILOSOPHIAE NATURALIS Principia MATHEMATICA, followed by the heading Definitiones and Def. I, with a Latin definition of quantity of matter in italic type. Faint bleed-through text from the reverse page is visible.Book

Primary source

Principia Mathematica, Page 1: Definitions

Isaac Newton · 1687

Black-and-white line engraving of an elderly man with long, wavy white hair seated in a dark armchair, wearing a dark coat, waistcoat, and white cravat, with his hands resting on his knee. A column appears at the right. Inscribed beneath: 'ISAACUS NEWTON EQ. AUR. ÆT. 83', with 'I. Vanderbank pinxit 1725' at lower left and 'Geo. Vertue Sculpsit 1726' at lower right.Painting

Primary source

Sir Isaac Newton, line engraving by Vertue, 1726

George Vertue · 1726

Engraved diagram on a cream page within a book, showing a curved comet path from Sol at left, with dated positions such as Nov. 25, Dec. 12, Jan. 5 and Mar. 5, labeled orbit lines and a sphere intersection line.Document

Primary source

Principia Mathematica, Fold-out Diagram

Isaac Newton · 1687

Engraved portrait of Sir Isaac Newton, a man with long curled wig and dark robe, bust-length, against a shaded background. Caption below reads 'SIR ISAAC NEWTON' and publisher 'William Collins Glasgow & London'.Painting

Primary source

Sir Isaac Newton, stipple engraving by J. Scott after Kneller, 1702

J. Scott, after Sir Godfrey Kneller · 1702 (print made later)

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