John Henning (2 May 1771 – 8 April 1851) was a Scottish sculptor who began his career as a carpenter. His masterpieces were the one-twentieth-scale models he created of the
Parthenon and
Bassae friezes.
[Malden, Joh]
Henning, John (1771–1851)
at ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004. (Registration needed for online edn.) Accessed 10 June 2010 These took him twelve years to complete.
[John Henning’s miniature casts of the Parthenon frieze]
at the British Museum, retrieved June 2010 Many others then copied this idea but he could not copyright the work of a long-dead artist, and could do nothing to prevent this.
[
]
Biography
Henning was born in Paisley the son of Samuel Henning a carpenter and builder. He trained in wood-carving under his father.
He was noted for his ability as a sculptor when he created cameos of his friends and family. After marrying Catherine Sunter when aged 28 and encouraged by his early cameos he went into business in Glasgow and then Edinburgh attracting clients that included Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
. Josiah Wedgwood was impressed by his work and agreed to champion them for Henning.[Wall, John ''That Most Ingenious Modeller: The Life and Work of John Henning, Sculptor'', Melrose Books, Ely, U.K. 2008. ] In 1810 he is listed as a "portrait modeller" living at 48 Rose Street in the First New Town in Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
just north of Princes Street
Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...
.
In 1811, John and Catherine moved to London where Henning saw the newly arrived Elgin Marbles in Burlington House
Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. It was originally a private Neo-Palladian mansion owned by the Earls of Burlington and was expanded in the mid-19th century after being purchased by the British government. Toda ...
and persuaded Lord Elgin
Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the h ...
to allow him to draw and copy them. It was said that a commission from Princess Charlotte Princess Charlotte may refer to:
People
* Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1694–1715), wife of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia and mother of Tsar Peter II, Emperor of Russia
* Charlotte Aglaé d'Orléans (1700–1761), wife of ...
of a portrait medallion inspired Henning to realise that he could use his drawings to create slate moulds that could be used to reproduce the friezes in miniature.[ Henning also took advantage of his sittings with the Princess to introduce her to more radical reading.][ This task was to last twelve years although Henning decided to also add the Bassae frieze to his work, and this did not arrive in England until a few years into his work. One miniature version of the Parthenon frieze was just two inches high, but over twenty four feet long.][
By 1820, Henning was ready to sell his work and it was obvious that he had not copied the remains of the friezes, but recreated them. In the case of the Parthenon frieze he had used drawings taken by ]William Pars
William Pars (28 February 1742 – 1782) was an English watercolour portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and illustrator.
Life and works
Pars was born in London, the son of a metal engraver. He studied at "Shipley's Drawing Schoo ...
in 1765, the drawings commissioned from Feodor Ivanowitsch by Lord Elgin before they were moved to England and importantly drawings made by Jacques Carrey
Jacques Carrey (12 January 1649 – 18 February 1726) was a French painter and draughtsman, now remembered almost exclusively for the series of drawings he made of the Parthenon, Athens, in 1674.
Born in Troyes, Carrey was a pupil in the atelier ...
. The last drawings were not the most detailed, but importantly they were made thirteen years before the explosion that had damaged the Parthenon in 1687.[
One copy of the miniature Parthenon frieze was sold to William IV for £42 in 1821][ but its location is not known. He failed to gain a copyright on this work and others profited by making copies.][ Very few original copies of these miniatures are known to exist.][
In 1827, Henning and his son created sculptures in the style of the Parthenon frieze for a screen erected at Hyde Park Gate in London. The following year, John Jr. confirmed that he would recreate a copy of the Parthenon frieze for London's Athenaeum Club. Although only just over half the length of the 524 feet long original this model was at the correct scale and was constructed from Bath stone in agreement with ]Decimus Burton
Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Reg ...
, the club's architect.[
Henning also made half-scale models which he hoped to reproduce for more modest buildings. Henning found that they were very popular but the business was captured across Europe by others who had unauthorised copies of his work. Equally distressing to Henning was the low quality of some of the copies. Because of this Henning became a supporter of the emerging laws on copyright but also was unhappy that his success was going unrewarded.][
In 1845, Henning again invested his time based around the friezes. This time he intended to recreate the two friezes as engravings. Trial proofs were made but unfortunately his partner in the enterprise, Alfred Robert Freebairn (1794–1846), died before either of the works were completed.][
Henning died on 8 April 1851, two years after his wife. He was buried as a pauper in ]Finchley
Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross.
Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...
Churchyard.[
]
Legacy
Henning's original slate models were obtained by the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in 1938. The Athenaeum Club and the screen at Hyde Park are extant. Copies of Henning's work are still being discovered.[
]
Family
Henning's eldest son John Henning (1801-1857) was also a sculptor. He won the Society of Art's Silver Isis Medal for a relief entitled "The Good Samaritan". In 1825 he was commissioned to repair the statue of Queen Anne in front of St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
. In 1836 he created the figurative panels on the front of Manchester Art Gallery
Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...
.
Samuel Henning (c.1802-1832) aided his father in the restoration of the Elgin Marbles. He designed the tomb of Duncan Sinclair in Kensal Green Cemetery. He died of cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
during the epidemic of 1832.
Another son Archibald Skirving Henning
Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold".
Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon .
Erkanbald, bishop of ...
became an artist and he has a few paintings in public collections in the United Kingdom. Archibald died aged 59 in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
in 1864.Obituary
The Gentleman's Magazine, 1864, retrieved 12 July 2014 He was named after the Scottish artist Archibald Skirving
Archibald Skirving (1749 – 19 May 1819) was a Scottish portrait painter. He was born at Athelstaneford near Haddington.
Life
Archibald was born in Athelstaneford near Haddington the son of Adam Skirving. His younger brother Robert joined t ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henning, John
Scottish sculptors
Scottish male sculptors
1771 births
1851 deaths
Artists from Paisley, Renfrewshire
People associated with the British Museum
18th-century Scottish people
19th-century Scottish people
Scottish businesspeople
19th-century British sculptors