View source for John Henning (1771–1851)

{{Short description|Scottish sculptor, 1771–1851}}
{{Other uses|John Henning (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = John Henning
| image       = John Henning PG 1375.jpg
| image_size  = 240px
| caption     = John Henning by [[Robert Scott Lauder]]<ref name=ng>[http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/2719?initial=L&artistId=3840&artistName=Robert%20Scott%20Lauder&submit=1 John Henning], Robert Scott Lauder, c. 1840, National Gallery, retrieved June 2010</ref>
| birth_date  = 1771
| birth_place = [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]]
| death_date  = 1851
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| nationality = Scottish
| other_names =
| education   = self-taught
| spouse      = Catherine Sunter
| children    = five
| parents     =
| relatives   =
| signature   =
| website     =
| footnotes   =
}}
'''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 Frieze|Parthenon]] and [[Bassae Frieze|Bassae]] friezes.<ref name=odnb>Malden, John [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/12945 Henning, John (1771–1851)] at ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004. (Registration needed for online edn.) Accessed 10 June 2010</ref> These took him twelve years to complete.<ref name=BMmini>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/j/casts_of_the_parthenon_frieze.aspx John Henning’s miniature casts of the Parthenon frieze] at the British Museum, retrieved June 2010</ref> 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.<ref name=ng/>
==Biography==
Henning was born in [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|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]]. Josiah Wedgwood was impressed by his work and agreed to champion them for Henning.<ref name=blurb>Wall, John ''That Most Ingenious Modeller: The Life and Work of John Henning, Sculptor'', Melrose Books, Ely, U.K. 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-906050-58-0}}</ref> In 1810 he is listed as a "portrait modeller" living at 48 Rose Street in the [[New Town, Edinburgh|First New Town]] in [[Edinburgh]] just north of [[Princes Street]].<ref>Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1810</ref>
In 1811, John and Catherine moved to London where Henning saw the newly arrived [[Elgin Marbles]] in [[Burlington House]] and persuaded [[Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin|Lord Elgin]] to allow him to draw and copy them.<ref name=BMmini /> It was said that a commission from [[Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796–1817)|Princess Charlotte]] 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.<ref name=blurb/> Henning also took advantage of his sittings with the Princess to introduce her to more radical reading.<ref name=odnb/> 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.<ref name=BMmini/>
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]] in 1765, the drawings commissioned from [[Feodor Ivanowitsch]] by Lord Elgin before they were moved to England and importantly drawings made by [[Jacques Carrey]]. 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.<ref name=BMmini/>
One copy of the miniature Parthenon frieze was sold to [[George IV|William IV]] for £42 in 1821<ref name=BMmini/> but its location is not known. He failed to gain a copyright on this work and others profited by making copies.<ref name=ng/> Very few original copies of these miniatures are known to exist.<ref name=blurb/>
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, London|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]], the club's architect.<ref name=BMmini/>
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.<ref name=blurb/>
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.<ref name=BMmini/>
Henning died on 8 April 1851, two years after his wife. He was buried as a pauper in [[Finchley]] Churchyard.<ref name=odnb/>
==Legacy==
Henning's original slate models were obtained by the [[British Museum]] in 1938. The Athenaeum Club and the screen at Hyde Park are extant. Copies of Henning's work are still being discovered.<ref name=blurb/>
==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]]. In 1836 he created the figurative panels on the front of [[Manchester Art Gallery]].
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]] during the epidemic of 1832.
Another son [[Archibald Skirving Henning]] became an artist and he has a few paintings in public collections in the United Kingdom.<ref name=bbc>{{Art UK bio|wikidata=Q4786356|name=Archibald Skirving Henning}}</ref> Archibald died aged 59 in [[Manchester]] in 1864.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=IWU3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA261 Obituary], The Gentleman's Magazine, 1864, retrieved 12 July 2014</ref> He was named after the Scottish artist [[Archibald Skirving]].
==References==
{{commons category|John Henning}}
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Scottish sculptors]]
[[Category:Scottish male sculptors]]
[[Category:1771 births]]
[[Category:1851 deaths]]
[[Category:Artists from Paisley, Renfrewshire]]
[[Category:People associated with the British Museum]]
[[Category:18th-century Scottish people]]
[[Category:19th-century Scottish sculptors]]
[[Category:Scottish businesspeople]]
[[Category:19th-century Scottish male artists]]