Harry Clarke’s Haunted Faces, Fragile Silhouettes
The folks over at A Journey Round My Skull were so kind as to scan a 1923 copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination, illustrated by Harry Clarke. Clarke, an accomplished turn of the century stained glass artist and illustrator, relished anatomy and minutiae, obsessively rendering every refined cheekbone, elongated toe, hair follicle and fabric fold. I spent at least an hour poring over this Flickr set in wonderment, pausing to view each hyper-detailed image at high resolution.
Though Clarke was Aubrey Beardsley’s contemporary, and they share a fondness of stylization and monochrome, I think he surpasses mister B. not only with the amount of detail packed into his illustrations, but also with the darkness radiating from each plate. There is something inherently unhinged about these characters and a certain demonic unrest dances behind their thin, sallow faces, even in moments of outward tranquility. These haunted faces, fragile silhouettes, and rich patterns have earned Harry Clarke a spot among my top favorite illustrators of all time, right next to Von Bayros and, of course, uncle Vania. Hit the jump for a few more.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:33 am
Wow. These are stunning. I’m a lifelong Poe fan and somehow had never encountered these. Thank you so much for sharing them.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:35 am
This is indeed some amazing work. I didn’t really knew the artist, but will for sure be one of my favorites.
Gotta research more about him now!
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:43 am
“…inherently unhinged about these characters and a certain demonic unrest…” Heh. Heh.
I do believe that is precisely why I love his illustrations so much; while the details are all so beautifully ornate, they all just look so damn deranged!
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:51 am
Wow! There’s something oddly erotic about his work, the third one and the final two especially. Maybe it’s all the beautiful people..
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:59 am
Now I’m needing to find a good way to get some hi-res versions of these printed and on my walls.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:17 am
These are simply amazing. I love lingering over all the details. Thanks for sharing.
For some reason the colored pieces made me think of Yoshitaka Amano, whom I adore.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:11 am
If you’re ever in Cork Ireland, visit the Crawford Art Gallery ( http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie ), they have a great collection of his graphic work, and his stain glass work
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:24 am
OH MY GOD. I’d seen one of these before (on one of Kambriel’s post cards, I believe?) but not the others. Thank you so much for digging this up! LOVE.
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:15 am
Keith, Thank you! I’m dying to go to Ireland, actually. If/when I do, this is definitely going on the list.
Nadya and David, it’s my pleasure! His work always leaves my jaw on the floor.
Evan, agreed. I’m 100% positive Amano was influenced, if not by Clarke specifically, then by the illustration of that era in general.
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:34 am
Ohhhh so wonderful, am going over to that flickr set right now. Thank you.
March 3rd, 2010 at 12:40 pm
so thrilled about this post! i love harry clarke. ligeia being my favorite poe story, i found the corresponding illustration years ago and have been in love with clarke’s tenebrous and finely detailed work ever since. thanks for the great article!
March 3rd, 2010 at 1:12 pm
I first saw these illustrations when I was in grade school almost twenty years ago and have been haunted by them ever since! Thank you so much for sharing this link…what fond and frightening memories they doth stir!
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Wow, these are wonderful..!
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
These are AMAZING. It almost makes me sad that they’re probably too detailed for tattoo work, I’d love to see one inked on someone…
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:08 pm
I’ve contemplated one of these as a back-piece, briefly (the second),
but decided it simply wouldn’t age well, and simplifying it would be sort of missing the point.
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:53 pm
I got a Poe book with his work, just this xmas. First I’d set my eyes on. Wonderful.
March 3rd, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Harry Clarke has always been a favorite of mine, especially the illustrations he did for Goethe’s Faust. If you seek out the latter make sure you locate a copy with the extra color illustrations, they are worth it.
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:13 pm
I love !!! these! I think Beardsley did some Poe illustrations as well, and they don’t even come close to this. However, in support of Mr. B, I have to say his Salome illustrations are works of amazing brilliant super genius.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Harry Clarke is incredible!! His Faust illustrations made me gasp the first time I encountered them, but I hadn’t seen his Poe stuff before now. Thanks, Z!!
March 4th, 2010 at 4:54 am
One of my all-time favourite artists. For some reason there isn’t a decent book about him still in print, but the best place to start is ‘The Life and Work of Harry Clarke’ by Nicola Gordon Bowe. Not too difficult to find a second hand copy. A cheap softback version of Faust was published by Harrap in the eighties, with most of the amazing coloured plates reproduced in (gasp!) full colour, but you’d be lucky to find a copy now. He truly deserves his place in the pantheon next to Von Bayros, Beardsley and the mighty Vania! And his stained glass is beyond belief!
March 4th, 2010 at 8:32 am
god, i love harry clarke; finding that image of morella above, when i was a poe-obsessed kid, probably had the biggest impact on defining my sense of aesthetics for the rest o’ my life afterward. i found an old copy of his illustrated Faust a few years ago in a dusty bookstore, in great condition & for a disgustingly cheap price, but regrettably gave it away to an ex. some of his stuff(faust included) gets really far-out weird, and then gets further out – with mutated chthonic organ systems and ambiguous genitalia blooming in the background. i like that some of that stuff shows up in the stained glass that churches commissioned him to make too.
this has always been a favorite, and i’ve always assumed was a rendition of The Mothers scene from faust II.
March 6th, 2010 at 11:33 am
These are gorgeous. I hope a new printing of both the Poe and the Faust book are done sometime soon. Much more lovely the Beardsley IMHO.
March 8th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Incredible work! I didn’t recognize the artist’s name, but the work seems rather familiar to me. Makes me wanna’ dig up some Gustav Klimt or Yoshitaka Amano.
March 8th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
I had a book with some of these images years ago. It has sadly been lost since so this is a great find as I never knew who the artist was. To see it all like this is really what the internet should be used for…oh and cat memes of course.
Massive thanks for this. This is eye candy for me on epic levels.
March 14th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
What beautiful work… Thanks for sharing. I love these.
March 15th, 2010 at 12:01 am
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June 5th, 2010 at 2:58 am
Hi, just to let you know we have just published a new book on the entire collection of Harry Clarke’s stained glass. It is called Strangest Genius, and includes a foreword from Clarke’s granddaughter, Sunniva Clarke Sheridan. The book is a full colour hardback edition, and has been profiled in The Irish Times. A link to the review is here: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2010/0515/1224270446806.html
The book is available now, from our site, from Amazon.co.uk, and from any good bookshop.
June 9th, 2010 at 6:30 am
clarke deserves a book exclusively on his illustrations .the new book
on his stain glass is spectacular with the most advanced photography employed . this method could also show his illustrations to best effect as some of these examples demonstrate so well
June 21st, 2010 at 4:39 am
The only film of the life and work of Harry Clarke is available here:
http://www.camelproductions.net
Title – Harry Clarke – Darkness in Light
Writer/Director – John J Doherty
“Documentarian John J Doherty examines the life of Clarke and the controversial nature of his work, culminating in his clash with the conservative Irish Free State over his ‘offensive’ masterpiece, the Geneva Window’. Visually spectacular and poetically told, Darkness in Light is a fitting showcase of Clarke’s unique and haunting vision.” Boston Irish Film Festival