CARDINALL, Robert

fl. 1698 - 1730

Robert Cardinall was a native of Sudbury, Suffolk and worked under Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723). 'The Suffolk Mercury or St. Edmundsbury Post' of 20 September 1725 records: -
‘Whereas a false report was of late maliciously raised and reported, that Robert Cardinall, Portrait Painter, never was under the direction of Sir Godfrey Kneller to copy and to draw Pictures, he the said Robert Cardinall doth hereby affirm and declare that in the year 1698 he was Introduced to Sir Godfrey Kneller by Thomas Goodall, late of Bernard’s Inn, in London, Esq. since deceased, Jonathan Perry, late of Bury St. Edmund’s, in the county of Suffolk, gent. also deceased, where the said Robert Cardinall Copyed for several years under the said Sir Godfrey Kneller, notwithstanding which, a certain envious person hath declared the contrary to divers' gentlemen of the said Robert Cardinall’s particular acquaintance, although the said person dares not to assert it in the presence of the said Robert Cardinall, any more than he dares presume to paint with him.’ In 1715, Cardinall painted a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Last Supper' for the reredos for St Peter’s church, Sudbury, which consisted of a central pedimented board displaying the Ten Commandments and, over the north and south doors his paintings of 1730 'Moses' and 'Aaron' were hung in a position flanking the reredos at the east end of the church. These were replaced by Bodley in 1898 when the church was 'restored' and painted, but his decoration of the walls was removed in 1968. Another painting 'Portrait of Robert Gainsborough, eldest brother of John Gainsborough, father of the great artist' painted by Cardinall is now in The Guildhall Museum, Thetford in the gift of Prince Frederick Victor Duleep Singh.

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Works by This Artist