Henry Bone, RA, British 1755-1834- Danaë, after... Lot 286

Henry Bone, RA, British 1755-1834- Danaë, after Titian; enamel on copper, inscribed 'London/ April 1812/ Painted for the Marquis of Lansdown by/ Henry Bone RA. Enamel painter in Ordinary/ to His Majesty and Enamel painter to H.R.H./ the Prince Regent after the Original by Titian/ in the Collection of the Earl of Darnley' to the reverse, 31.7 x 22.6 cm. Provenance: The collection of the Earl of Darnley. The artist's sale, London, Christie's, 30 June 1832, lot 66. Private Collection, UK. Exhibited: London, Royal Academy, 1810, no. 652. Literature: R. Walker, 'Henry Bone's Pencil Drawings in the National Gallery', in The Walpole Society, 1999, p. 359, cat. no. 672. Note: Bone was known for creating some of the largest enamel paintings of his time, achieving recognition in 1801 when he became an associate of the Royal Academy and was appointed enamel painter to King George III. Bone went on to retain this position through the reigns of George IV and William IV. In 1811 Bone was elected as a Royal Academician, and this same year completed a large enamel painting after Titian’s Bacchus and Ariadne. That picture was sold at Christie's London on the 4th July 2013 (lot 2). This present work by Bone is also derived from the work of Titian, and depicts the mythological princess Danaë, as narrated by Ovid and Boccaccio. The Venetian painter Titian and his workshop made at least six versions of Danaë (or Danaë and the Shower of Gold), between about 1544 and the 1560s. Ovid recounts how Danaë was confined to a bronze tower following a prophecy that her firstborn would kill her father. Depicted in this work is the moment that Danaë is seduced and becomes pregnant by Zeus, who descended from Mount Olympus to seduce her in the form of a shower of gold. The presence of Cupid on the left-hand side is emblematic of Zeus's desire.