Oil on canvas, in a carved wood frame, 241.3cm by 144.8cm.
George II, born in Germany, was the last British monarch to be born outside Great Britain.
He was also the last to lead an army into battle; at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743 during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748).
Charles Jervas studied for a year as an assistant to Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723).
Despite the fact that Kneller appears not to have regarded his work very highly, Jervas found success in London as a portrait painter, eventually succeeding Kneller as Principal Portrait Painter to George I.
He moved in intellectual circles and painted many of the literary figures of the day, including Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope.
