Michael Dahl (c1659 - 1743). Michael Dahl was a Swedish portrait painter who lived and worked in England most of his career and died there. He was one of the most internationally known Swedish painters of his time. He painted portraits of many aristocrats and some members of royal families, such as Queen Anne of Great Britain, Prince George of Denmark and the exiled Queen Christina of Sweden. Michael Dahl was born in Stockholm, in 1656 or 1659: most of the sources point to 1659. His mother, Catarina Dahl, is assumed to have made many silent sacrifices to give Michael the opportunity of a good education, so that his talent was not to be wasted. According to letters written by Michael from Rome to his mother back in Sweden, she had raised him and his sister in an old-fashioned way and in the spirit of Christianity. At the age of at least 15 years, Dahl had to decide where he was going to study art, though the only options in Sweden at the time were an apprenticeship in the Painters' Guild or joining the Martin Hannibal and David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl group. Michael Dahl received his first lessons in art in 1674 from the Hungarian-born drawing-master Martin Hannibal, who had been requested to come to Sweden from Italy by the prominent Swedish painter David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl to aid him in the foundation of a portrait academy and to teach students and amateurs the first elements of painting. The Hannibal and Ehrenstrahl group consisted of a handful of students who were taught by Martin Hannibal and David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl. Since there were two teachers, the group was divided. The students were first under the leadership of Hannibal to learn the basics of painting, and if they showed skill, they had the chance of being picked out to continue their study with Ehrenstrahl. This would suggest that Ehrenstrahl was a better painter than Hannibal, whose talent is not easily assessed as none of his work has been identified. The only competition of the same league as the Hannibal and Ehrenstrahl group, was Martin Mijtens the Elder, who didn't settle in Stockholm until 1681 and was therefore not an option for Dahl in the mid-seventies. The Painters' Guild wasn't an option for Dahl either, due to its lack of contemporary well-known artists as members. Thus Michael Dahl started to study in the Hannibal and Ehrenstrahl group in 1674. Though it isn't fully confirmed, there are assumptions that the teaching Dahl received from Hannibal was finished before they ever had permission from the authorities in Sweden to open a portrait academy. After his time with Hannibal, Dahl was one of the students who were allowed to continue with Ehrenstrahl as the teacher. From this fact it is easy to tell that Hannibal and Ehrenstrahl were pleased with Dahl as a student. In the group there were mainly students of German origin and the ones contemporary with Dahl were Ludvig Weyandt, David von Krafft, David Richter the Elder, Hans Georg Mller, Andreas von Behn and Erik Utterhielm. On 30 July 1682, Dahl was issued a passport to be able to travel throughout Europe for the sake of his studies. His first destination on this educational journey was London. He was brought there by an English merchant called Sowter, though his name may vary. It is probable that it was through this man that Dahl came in contact with the skilled engraver and painter Robert White. The earliest trace of Dahl's activity in England is a portrait of Samuel Clarke, which he copied from White's engraving the same year as it was made. White took Dahl under his wing in the world of painting in London. As a token of gratitude, Dahl aided White with valuable ideas when it came to engraving a portrait of the king of Sweden, Charles XI, employing his familiarity with the royal paintings Dahl had observed in the studio of Ehrenstrahl. White helped Dahl expand his network in London and he soon came in contact with the man who is probably responsible for the greatest impact on his development, Godfrey Kneller. Kneller showed Dahl what the public really wanted from artists, and how they were going to get paid for their work. His studio was factory-like compared with David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl's, which Dahl's biographer Wilhelm Nisser terms Ehrenstrahl's monopoly of glorifying Swedish Royalty. In Kneller's studio, Dahl both studied and made a living and there he became acquainted with Henry Tilson. Tilson was from a highly respected family and had earlier studied under the Court portrait painter Sir Peter Lely. He was considered one of the most promising painters of Lely's pupils. Dahl and Tilson started to plan a journey around Europe to expand their studies. They were to go to Paris, Venice and Rome.