Harry Clarke’s stained glass

Jun 10, 2009

Sturminster Newton, South aisle window (detail).

More from one of Ireland’s great artists. Harry Clarke’s book illustration is oft-reproduced but his stained glass work remains little seen unless you visit the churches where the windows are installed or find a copy of Nicola Gordon Bowe’s out-of-print monograph. Happily there’s a Flickr group who’ve done a great job photographing many of these windows, most of which will be impossible to adequately capture without erecting scaffolding. Someone really ought to publish a book of this work.

Elsewhere on { feuilleton }
• The illustrators archive

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Poe at 200
• IKO stained glass
• Harry Clarke’s The Year’s at the Spring
• The art of Harry Clarke, 1889–1931

8 comments or trackbacks

#1 posted by Angeliska

Jun 10th, 2009

Oh my stars- Harry Clarke did stained glass! I had no idea these existed- thank you for sharing this! I adore Mr. Clarke’s illustrations, and stained glasswork makes me swoon- especially Mucha’s stained glass in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, and the windows at St. Barbara’s cathedral in Kutná Hora, outside Prague near Sedlec Ossuary. Have you been there? So lovely.
#2 posted by AlyxL

Jun 10th, 2009

Thank you so much for this link – I love Clarke’s glass, but getting to see, let alone photograph it, is difficult, especially since most of it is in Ireland.

I really think he was one of the finest stained glass artists ever, and even such good photographs don’t convey the whole effect. He used thick flashed glass (a coloured layer on clear), eating away at the coloured layer with acid to give amazingly subtle gradations of colour. There is a single lovely panel in the V&A’s stained glass gallery, but my favourite is his Eve of St Agnes screen in the Hugh Lane gallery in Dublin, where he seems to have used two colours of flashed glass in a sort of two-strip technicolour effect.
#3 posted by John

Jun 10th, 2009

Hi Angeliska. Clarke’s father was a church decorator so he started out producing stained glass at a very earlier age. He and his brother gained a considerable reputation for their windows and you even get a stained glass feel with some of his drawings like this one from Faust.

I’ve only seen pictures of the Mucha windows, unfortunately. One of many reasons to visit Prague, something I still haven’t managed.

Thanks for the reminder about the St Agnes screen, AlyxL. I taped something from TV about that years ago, the only mention of Clarke’s work I’ve ever seen on television. There’s something magical about stained glass which no reproduction can capture.
#4 posted by Wiley

Jun 11th, 2009

There’s actually a DVD covering his work, including much of his stained glass work, or at least so it says, that I’ve seen floating around on Ebay. I’ve no opinion on it as I’ve not seen it, but I seem to remember the cover having some critical praise upon it. I can’t remember what it was called and there doesn’t seem to be a listing for it now. If this changes anytime soon then I’ll mention the title. Hell, one of you may very well know the title though.
#5 posted by Nathalie

Jun 12th, 2009

How wonderful! I had not know he had designed for stained glass too! Another great reason to go to Ireland…
(I had been quite happy to see Mucha’s stained glass in Prague, so this must be extra special)
#6 posted by John

Jun 12th, 2009

Wiley: the DVD is Harry Clarke — Darkness in Light. Dave at Savoy Books had been intending on ordering a copy but he hasn’t got round to it yet.
#7 posted by Carmel Eshky.

Sep 24th, 2009

I spent the morning at the Hugh Lane gallery and am so amazed and delighted with the eve of St Agnes screen that I saw there. I could have sat there all day looking at it and becoming lost in it’s beauty. The colours, shades and and sheer beauty have made me glad to be alive. Such a miracle of art.
I wish that everyone could visit and see it.
#8 posted by Catherine

Nov 16th, 2009

The DVD Harry Clarke – Darkness in Light is available from Camel Productions http://www.camelproductions.net
Email: camel@ireland.com