P7242728
Petworth House, Petworth, West Sussex
National Trust
The Grand Staircase
The Creation of Pandora
Louis Laguerre (Paris 1663 - London 1721) 1718/20
Replaces a previous ceiling painting destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1714.
Pandora appears in the centre in a white dress surrounded by gods and goddesses offering her gifts.
Zeus/Jupiter hands Pandora the notorious sealed jar containing all the evils of the world and Hope. Juno/Hera has her peacock. Vulcan
/Hephaestus her creator, kneels beside her and offers her a gold coronet. Minerva/Athena is adjusting Pandora's dress, Bacchus/Dionysus presents a goblet of wine, which has just been filled by Ganymede who sits above him holding an ornate pitcher of wine; Ceres/Demeter presents an ear of corn, and a seated Silenus, attended by satyrs and nymphs are bearing her baskets of grapes. Beneath Pandora on two dark clouds are Hercules/Heracles with his club and Pan playing his pipes. Mars offers her his sword, and above him Venus, attended by the Graces, reclines on a cloud on which lies her blue mantle, and offers her cestus. Neptune offers coral from the sea and Cybele wearing a crown of towers is seated in a chariot drawn by lions holds a key in her left hand and raises her right hand in despair. Others in attendance are Apollo with his lyre attended by the Muses; Saturn with a sickle and hour-glass; Diana with her bow. Above Pandora, Flora crowns her with a garland of roses and Mercury/Hermes with his caduceus in his right hand, hovers in the air ready to take Pandora to Epimetheus the brother of Prometheus.
Pandora: the name of the first woman on earth. Prometheus created Man by moulding figures out of clay, Athena then breathed life into them. Because of the faults of mortal men Zeus determined to destroy them. He deprived men of fire but Prometheus stole it from Olympus by secretly taking it in the stalk of a fennel plant, and returned it to them. Zeus in revenge caused Vulcan to make the first woman, Pandora, who, by her charms and beauty would bring misery upon the human race. All the gods then bestowed her with gifts to assist her in bringing about the ruin of mankind. Zeus presented her with a sealed jar containing all the evils that were ever to plague mankind. The only good it contained was Hope who was at the bottom. Pandora was delivered by Mercury to Epimetheus who had been warned by his brother Prometheus not to accept gifts from the gods. Epimetheus married Pandora. Pandora having been told not open the jar, did so and released into the world a plague of evils - the last to leave was Hope. Pandora bore Epimetheus a daughter, Pyrrha, who married Deucalion and, with him, survived the Great Flood.
P7242728
Petworth House, Petworth, West Sussex
National Trust
The Grand Staircase
The Creation of Pandora
Louis Laguerre (Paris 1663 - London 1721) 1718/20
Replaces a previous ceiling painting destroyed by a disastrous fire in 1714.
Pandora appears in the centre in a white dress surrounded by gods and goddesses offering her gifts.
Zeus/Jupiter hands Pandora the notorious sealed jar containing all the evils of the world and Hope. Juno/Hera has her peacock. Vulcan
/Hephaestus her creator, kneels beside her and offers her a gold coronet. Minerva/Athena is adjusting Pandora's dress, Bacchus/Dionysus presents a goblet of wine, which has just been filled by Ganymede who sits above him holding an ornate pitcher of wine; Ceres/Demeter presents an ear of corn, and a seated Silenus, attended by satyrs and nymphs are bearing her baskets of grapes. Beneath Pandora on two dark clouds are Hercules/Heracles with his club and Pan playing his pipes. Mars offers her his sword, and above him Venus, attended by the Graces, reclines on a cloud on which lies her blue mantle, and offers her cestus. Neptune offers coral from the sea and Cybele wearing a crown of towers is seated in a chariot drawn by lions holds a key in her left hand and raises her right hand in despair. Others in attendance are Apollo with his lyre attended by the Muses; Saturn with a sickle and hour-glass; Diana with her bow. Above Pandora, Flora crowns her with a garland of roses and Mercury/Hermes with his caduceus in his right hand, hovers in the air ready to take Pandora to Epimetheus the brother of Prometheus.
Pandora: the name of the first woman on earth. Prometheus created Man by moulding figures out of clay, Athena then breathed life into them. Because of the faults of mortal men Zeus determined to destroy them. He deprived men of fire but Prometheus stole it from Olympus by secretly taking it in the stalk of a fennel plant, and returned it to them. Zeus in revenge caused Vulcan to make the first woman, Pandora, who, by her charms and beauty would bring misery upon the human race. All the gods then bestowed her with gifts to assist her in bringing about the ruin of mankind. Zeus presented her with a sealed jar containing all the evils that were ever to plague mankind. The only good it contained was Hope who was at the bottom. Pandora was delivered by Mercury to Epimetheus who had been warned by his brother Prometheus not to accept gifts from the gods. Epimetheus married Pandora. Pandora having been told not open the jar, did so and released into the world a plague of evils - the last to leave was Hope. Pandora bore Epimetheus a daughter, Pyrrha, who married Deucalion and, with him, survived the Great Flood.