10 Works, Today, January 31st. is artist Henry Howard's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #031

Henry Howard (1769–1847)

Pandora, whom the assembled Gods/ endowed with all their gifts..., c. 1834

Oil on mahogany panel

H 82 x W 249 cm

Sir John Soane’s Museum, London

The full title for this work by Howard is, in fact, 'Pandora, whom the assembled Gods/ endowed with all their gifts/ Formed by Vulcan, who is contemplating/ his work, she is dressed by the Graces/ and presented by Minerva with a veil/ and Cestus; – near her stands Pitho/ (the Goddess of Persuasion) – on the left/ are Phoebus, Diana, Mars, Venus, &/ Cupid; – on the right, Juno, Cybele/ and Bacchus; – in the midst Jupiter,/ attended by Victory and Nemesis, holds/ the fatal Vase, fraught with so much/ mischief to Mankind. More on this painting

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hesiod related it, each god cooperated by giving her unique gifts. Her other name is Anesidora, "she who sends up gifts", up implying "from below" within the earth. More on Pandora

Henry Howard (1769–1847)

Epimetheus Receiving Pandora, c. 1834

Oil on mahogany panel

H 76.5 x W 166.6 cm

Sir John Soane’s Museum, London

Zeus sent Pandora to Epimetheus, who forgot the warning of his brother Prometheus and made Pandora his wife.

The painting was inspired by a scene from John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost; referring to the story of Pandora and her famous vase, from which came all the cares and miseries of life. The quotation attached to the painting’s title comes from Book IV, Line 714, in which the un-fallen Eve is considered ‘more lovely’ than her mythological counterpart, Pandora, ‘whom the Gods Endowed with all their gifts’. More on this painting

Henry Howard (1769–1847)

The Opening of Pandora's Vase, c. 1834

Oil on mahogany panel

H 76.6 x W 166.5 cm

Sir John Soane’s Museum

Pandora crouches to duck the torrent of woe, evil and pain which streams from the jar, as Epimetheus tries in vain to reseal its lid. This is the story as told by Hesiod in his Works and Days.

At some time between about 1834 and 1860, the story of Pandora with her jar of evils became confounded with that of Psyche, who had a box which she could not open. The result was the tale still told about Pandora and her box of evils. More on this painting

Henry Howard RA (31 January 1769 – 5 October 1847) was an early 19th-century British portrait and history painter.

Henry Howard (1769–1847)

Hygeia

Oil on canvas

H 121.7 x W 96.5 cm

Thirlestane Castle, Lauder, United Kingdom

In Greek as well as Roman mythology, Hygieia was one of the Asclepiadae; the sons and daughters of the god of medicine, Asclepius, and his wife Epione. Hygieia was the goddess/personification of health, cleanliness and hygiene.

Hygieia also played an important part in her father's cult. While her father was more directly associated with healing, she was associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health. Her name is the source of the word "hygiene". More on Hygeia

He was born in London and after being educated at a school in Hounslow, he started studying with the painter Philip Reinagle in 1786. In 1788 he began attending the Royal Academy Schools and was awarded a silver medal for drawing from life and a gold medal for historical painting for his Caractacus Recognising the Dead Body of his Son.

Henry Howard (1769–1847)

The Apotheosis of Princess Charlotte Augusta (1796–1817), Princess of Wales, c. Date

1818

Oil on canvas

H 91.5 x W 71 cm

National Trust, Petworth House

Princess Charlotte was the only child of George IV (1762-1830) and Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821), married Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in 1816. She died in childbirth the following year and the national grief caused by her death may have encouraged Howard to paint this subject. The princess is here shown holding her still-born baby, rising to the sky, attended by two angels. 

The princess, holding her still-born baby, rises to the sky attended by two angels. Below is a lady with upraised hands and another is prostrate. More on this painting

In March 1791, Howard traveled to Italy, France, and Switzerland. In Rome, he met and studied sculpture with John Flaxman and John Deare. In 1792 he painted a Dream of Cain. While abroad he applied to the Royal Academy for a grant after the bankruptcy of his father. Two years later, he returned to Britain by way of Vienna and Dresden. He began instructing Reinagle's daughter Jane in drawing and married her in 1803. Together they had four daughters and three sons. From 1806 they lived at 50 Newman Street, Westminster, until his death.

Henry Howard 1769–1847

The Florentine Girl (‘The Artist’s Daughter’), c. 1827

Oil paint on canvas

965 × 610 mm

Tate

Henry Howard 1769–1847

Hylas is abducted by Nymphs

Oil on canvas

112.4 by 143.5 cm.; 44 1/4 by 56 1/2 in 

Private collection

Hylas was the son of King Theiodamas of the Dryopians. After Hercules killed Hylas's father, Hylas became a companion of Hercules. They both became Argonauts, accompanying Jason in his quest on his ship Argo in seeking the Golden Fleece. During the journey, Hylas was sent to find fresh water. He found a pond occupied by Naiads, and they lured Hylas into the water and he disappeared. More on Hylas and the nymphs

In the 1790s Howard painted and drew a variety of subjects from literature, portraits, and drawings of sculpture. In 1795 and 1796, he submitted five such pictures to the Royal Academy, including a sketch from Milton's Paradise Lost. He illustrated Sharpe's British Essayists and Du Roveray's edition of Alexander Pope's translation of Homer. He also contributed designs for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. Between 1799 and 1802, he made a series of drawings of sculpture. One series was published by the Dilettanti Society and one was made for the collector Charles Townley, the sculptor John Flaxman, and the Society of Engravers.

Henry Howard  (1769–1847)

Venus Carrying off Ascanius

Oil on canvas

Height: 69.8 cm (27.4 in); Width: 91.1 cm (35.8 in)

National Galleries of Scotland

Ascanius was a legendary king of Alba Longa and is the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas and Creusa, daughter of Priam. He has a divine lineage, being the son of Aeneas, who is the son of the goddess Venus and the hero Anchises, a relative of the king Priam; thus Ascanius has divine ascendents by both parents, being descendants of god Jupiter and Dardanus. He is also an ancestor of Romulus, Remus and the Gens Julia. Together with his father, he is a major character in Virgil's Aeneid, and he is depicted as one of the founders of the Roman race. More on Ascanius

Howard was elected an associate member of the Royal Academy and exhibited there until his death in 1847; he was elected a full member in 1808. In 1811 he became secretary of the Academy and in 1833 he was appointed professor of painting at the Schools (his lectures were published by his son, Frank in 1848). Howard's diploma work was The Four Angels Loosed from the Great River Euphrates. He painted a series of works from Milton's Comus and several subjects from the plays of William Shakespeare. In 1809 he exhibited Christ Blessing Young Children, which later became the altarpiece of St. Luke's, in Berwick St Soho, London (demolished 1936). One of Howard's most important patrons was Lord Egremont, a significant collector.

Henry Howard (1769–1847)

Sabrina, c. c.1821

Oil on canvas

H 114.3 x W 143.5 cm

Victoria and Albert Museum

According to a legend recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th century, Habren was the daughter of a king named Locrinus (also known as Locrin or Locrine in English) by his mistress, the Germanic princess Estrildis. Locrinus ruled England after the death of his father, Brutus of Troy, the legendary second founder of Britain. Locrinus cast aside his wife, Guendolen, and their son Maddan and acknowledged Sabrina and her mother, but the enraged Guendolen raised an army against him and defeated Locrinus in battle. Guendolen then ordered that Sabrina and her mother be drowned in the river. The river was named after Sabrina so Locrine's betrayal of Guendolen would never be forgotten.[4] According to legend, Sabrina lives in the river, which reflects her mood. She rides in a chariot and dolphins and salmon swim alongside her.[5] The later story suggests that the legend of Sabrina could have become intermingled with old stories of a river goddess or nymph. More on Sabrina

While his history paintings were in a neo-classical academic style following Flaxman and others, his portraits continued the general tradition of English 18th-century portraiture and many of his portraits are in the National Gallery. His history paintings are hard to find on public display but his ceiling for the dining-room of the Sir John Soane's Museum, an Aurora adapted from Guido Reni (1837), can be seen obliquely.

Circle Henry Howard

Macbeth and Banquo with the three witches

Oil on canvas

47 3/8 x 58½ in

Private collection

In addition to his portraiture and historical painting, Howard worked on many decorative works. In 1805, a Mr. Hibbert commissioned him to paint a Cupid and Psyche frieze in 1814, along with several other artists. He painted large transparencies, apparently to be lighted from behind, for the "Grand Revolving Temple of Concord" built in Green Park for the visit of several sovereigns to celebrate (prematurely) the defeat of Napoleon. This was, according to some accounts, destroyed by, and according to others only saved by the cavalry from, "the multitudes of idle and dissolute spectators of all sorts". He also worked on a Solar System for the ceiling of Stafford House in 1835, then housing a superb art collection open to the public, as well as several other ceiling projects.

Howard died in Oxford on 5 October 1847 of "paralysis". More on Henry Howard