Harry Clarke was born in Dublin, Ireland, on St. Patrick’s Day, 1889. He began his artistic career as an apprentice to his father, Joshua, a skilled stained glass craftsman. In 1907, Clarke attended the Irish International Exhibition and was first exposed to the works of Aubrey Beardsley. It left a profound impression on him and he began to pursue illustration jobs as well as stained glass work. Clarke is best known for illustrating Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (1916), Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1919) by Edgar Allen Poe, Years at the Spring (1920), the Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault (1922), the Ship that Sailed to Mars (1923), Goethe’s Faust (1925) and Swineburnes Collected Poems (1928). Clarke died in 1931. He was only 41.Clarke’s ability to capture line and contrasting tones is exceptional, influenced by his work with stained glass, as well as the art nouveau and symbolist movements. The ghoulish figures from Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1919) and Goethe’s Faust (1925) are unparalleled! Clarke revels in the bizarre and twisted, and yet his illustrations are strangely beautiful.
From Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1919)
From Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1919)
From Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1919)
From Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1919)
Goethe’s Faust (1925)
Goethe’s Faust (1925)
“Harry Clarke.” The Wee Web: Authors and Illustrators Archive. The Wee Web, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.
Just wanted to say you're doing a great job with this blog, I've only recently discovered the artworkk from the golden age of illustration, but I cannot believe how contempory it still is!
ReplyDeleteMakes you wonder what happened to the level of printing in books these days to be honest... (mainly thinking of the current edition of D&D, horrible paper, horrible artwork, gigantic prices...)