Dark Beauty: Hidden Detail in Harry Clarke’s Stained Glass

By Lucy Costigan

Dark Beauty focuses on the minute detail in Harry Clarke’s stained-glass windows, particularly in the borders and lower panels of his work. Clarke’s brilliance as a graphic artist is clearly visible in his book illustrations, which are imbued with precise attention to intricate designs, and he applied the same lavish focus to every facet of his stained glass.

The title ‘Dark Beauty’ refers to the duality of Clarke’s work that sees delicate angels juxtaposed with macabre, grotesque figures, and represents the partially hidden details that dwell in the background of his windows – motifs, accessories, flora, fauna and diminutive characters – which may be missed in light of the dominance of the central subjects.

The authors spent many years photographing Clarke’s windows in Ireland, England, America and Australia, and the resulting 60,000 photos have been carefully whittled down to 500 glorious images. Dark Beauty will provide lovers of Clarke’s stained glass with the opportunity to view previously obscured or unnoticed details in all their unique beauty and inspire their own travels to view Clarke’s work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Merrion Press
• Release date: Sep 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781785372353

Lucy Costigan

Lucy Costigan lives in Wexford and is the author of Strangest Genius: The Stained Glass of Harry Clarke (with photographer, Michael Cullen). The book was short-listed for Best Irish Published Book of the Year for the Irish Book Awards in 2010.

Book preview

DARK BEAUTY

HIDDEN DETAIL IN HARRY CLARKE’S STAINED GLASS

DARK BEAUTY

HIDDEN DETAIL IN HARRY CLARKE’S STAINED GLASS

LUCY COSTIGAN AND MICHAEL CULLEN

book logo

First published in 2019 by

Merrion Press

An imprint of Irish Academic Press

10 George’s Street

Newbridge

Co. Kildare

Ireland

www.merrionpress.ie

© Lucy Costigan and Michael Cullen, 2019

www.harryclarke.net

9781785372339 (Cloth)

9781785372346 (Kindle)

9781785372353 (Epub)

9781785372360 (PDF)

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

An entry can be found on request

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

An entry can be found on request

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved

alone, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or

introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any

means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise)

without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the

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Front jacket:

Detail of St Elizabeth from Madonna and Child with St Elizabeth of Hungary and St Barbara (1921),

St Mary’s Church of England, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, England.

Photograph by Michael Cullen.

Back jacket:

Detail of angel from The Angel of Peace and Hope (1919),

Holy Trinity Church of Ireland, Killiney, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Photograph by Michael Cullen.

Page vi:

Clarke’s signature extracted from lower first light border of St Peter and St Paul (1927),

Church of Ireland, Sandford Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6. Photograph by Michael Cullen.

To Michael and Kathleen Costigan

Always part of every celebration,

Still scattering your light and colour,

Wherever we go.

CLARKE

DUBLIN

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FOREWORD

PREFACE

1. MASTER OF COLOUR AND LIGHT

2. FASHION AND ACCESSORIES

3. FLORA AND FAUNA

4. SETTINGS AND DÉCOR

5. BORDERS, TRACERY AND DECORATIVE PANELS

6. DIMINUTIVE CHARACTERS

7. ADDING THOSE EXTRA DETAILS

ENDNOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CATALOGUE OF WORK

GLOSSARY

LIST OF LOCATIONS AND WINDOWS REFERENCED IN TEXT

INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We wish, at the outset, to honour the memory of Nicola Gordon Bowe (1948–2018) who did so much to bring the work of Harry Clarke back into the full glare of Irish and indeed International focus. Her ground-breaking biography, The Life and Work of Harry Clarke (Irish Academic Press, 1989 and 1994; The History Press, 2012) has been the basis of further research into Clarke’s work by countless academics, writers and admirers. Dark Beauty also owes a great deal to Ms Bowe’s pioneering research and insightful interpretation of Clarke’s work.

Also, in fond memory of Phil Keeling and Jerome Hynes of the Wexford Festival Opera who always offered great encouragement and support to Michael when he began his photography career; and in special memory of Margaret (Mairead) Reidy, a lifelong promoter of Harry Clarke’s work and a generous supporter of Strangest Genius.

An enormous thank you to our friends and family who have worked very closely with us on all aspects of our Harry Clarke projects to date: to Theresa Cullen, Anthony Costigan, Raymond McGovern and Tony Walsh – The Harry Clarke Team – for researching and helping with image selection and for their monumental support. Thank you also to Sharon Costigan – niece and cousin – for always being an inspiration; and to Kathleen, Lisa and Antoinette for their valued friendship.

Special thanks to Lea for her constant support and companionship.

A special thank you to Theresa Cullen for the many weeks of tireless research she undertook to troll through Trinity’s Digital Collection (TCD) to unearth orders, receipts and correspondence from Joshua, Harry and Walter Clarke. This has greatly added to the overall picture of how the Clarke’s ran their day-to-day business and to the authenticity of our recording of Harry Clarke’s work.

Also special thanks to Tony Walsh for editing and for constructive criticism throughout the writing of the book. Thanks to Raymond McGovern, Dublin Historian, for sharing his vast knowledge of Dublin from the 1880s to the 1930s that added so much depth and colour to Strangest Genius, to our documentary, A Revel in Blue, and also to Dark Beauty.

Thanks a million to Priscilla Ege, Church Archivist, and to Peter Brien, Photographer, from St Vincent de Paul’s Church in Bayonne, New Jersey, for their wonderfully informative and evocative foreword.

A special thank you to all the administrators in churches and private establishments who gave us permission to photograph Harry Clarke’s windows throughout Ireland, England, in the USA and Australia. Our gratitude is also given to the Church of St John the Baptist, in Knock, Co. Mayo for allowing us to photograph the two Harry Clarke windows on the East wall. Thanks also to St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Valleymount, Co. Wicklow, for permission to photograph The Little Flower (1924) located on the North wall.

Our heartfelt gratitude to Amy Silverman, Assistant Registrar with The Wolfsonian, Miami, Florida, for allowing us to reproduce images from The Geneva Window (1930) and to Ronan O’Donnell, Dublin City Council and the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, for allowing us to reproduce images from The Eve of St Agnes (1924). Our thanks also go to the National Library of Ireland for permission to reproduce photos from the Harry Clarke collection.

Thanks to Helena Bergin, Architectural Conservation Officer, Fingal County Council, Dublin for sharing research findings of the Harry Clarke windows located in Naul, Old Town and Belcamp.

Thanks to Paul Gleeson and Fr Michael Sheedy for correspondence regarding the Harry Clarke and Studio windows in St Senan’s Catholic Church, Kilrush, Co. Clare.

The authors were informed about the Lawrence study by Tony Monaghan, Tullamore Parish, Co. Offaly. Tony was also instrumental in ascertaining that the lancets installed in Tullamore in 1987 were St Patrick, St Ignatius (1928), St Peter, St Paul (1928) and St Brendan (1928). The St Ignatius lancet had been incorrectly identified as St Beningus.

The authors also wish to acknowledge correspondence received from Geoffrey M.H. Carter, dated 15 August 2011, informing us of the title of the piece of music from which the musical notation in Clarke’s window, St Cecilia and a Listening Angel (1929) derives.

FOREWORD

It’s said that ‘a fine wine ages to perfection’ and so it is with the art of Harry Clarke. Since his death in 1931, appreciation for his talent has only increased.

In 2010, Lucy Costigan and Michael Cullen took on the task of bringing Clarke’s work to the world, with Strangest Genius: The Stained Glass of Harry Clarke. They have returned with their latest exploration of Clarke’s work in Dark Beauty: Hidden Detail in Harry Clarke’s Stained Glass.

We have always appreciated the fact that the only original stained-glass windows by Clarke in the Americas can be found in our church, St Vincent de Paul in Bayonne, New Jersey. Our story begins in 2007 when Michael visited our church to photograph Clarke’s windows for Strangest Genius. Coincidentally, around that time, in a rusty filing cabinet in a dusty rectory attic, we found a treasure trove of original documents (c. 1920) for the church and stained-glass windows. From them, we learned that our church was a result of a collaboration of three great creative minds: Charles Maginnis, well-known ecclesiastical Boston architect; Pastor Revd Joseph Dolan and Harry Clarke.

We learned that there was never any question as to Clarke getting the commission as Fr Dolan had seen his work in Ireland and insisted there be no competition. Clarke was asked to create a master plan for the entire church which was to include concepts and cartoons for all the windows.

The pastor and Clarke came up with a unique concept called The Genius of the Mass for the forty-eight church windows which were intended to be the crown jewels of the Romanesque Basilica. The first windows designed and completed in the series were the nine apse windows with Art Deco angels holding vessels and vestments for the Mass, the wheel window in the front façade and the fourteen clerestory windows. Because of his untimely death, these would be the only windows Clarke would live to see installed. This would be Clarke’s first and only commission in North America.

The next step was our baptistery, transept and nave windows featuring Old and New Testament figures from the Scriptures and figures important to our local church. The craftsmen of Clarke’s studios continued to bring the master plan to fulfillment.

Mass of the Apostles, Basilica of St Vincent de Paul, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA, Peter O’Brien.

Detail of necklace of shells, from Mass of the Apostles, Basilica of St Vincent de Paul, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA, Peter O’Brien.

Clarke began as an illustrator and his attention to detail carried over when he moved into the medium of stained glass. Lucy and Michael will highlight this aspect of his work in this book. They invite us on a treasure hunt to discover the little hidden details that might otherwise escape our notice. Some details in the glass are so beautiful and captivating that they can stand alone as works of art unto themselves.

Clarke filled our windows with many hidden details. We have a necklace of shells flowing in a window of the apostles, capturing the personality of our town which is surrounded by water. We know that Clarke spent retreat time on Inishere (Inis Oírr), the smallest of the Aran Islands, off Co. Galway, which may have inspired these hidden nautical references in his windows.

Clarke also created our windows to be a lesson in ecclesiastical and local history by including popes, bishops, priests, a parishioner who died while serving in the armed services, America’s first president, the first North American martyrs, original missionaries from our area and the patron saint of the church, St Vincent de Paul. We can walk around our church and tell its history from the 1700s to the 1940s, when the last windows were installed. We consider the portraits in our windows among our hidden treasures. Another gem is the architectural detail which shows the diaper pattern of our sanctuary floor in the scene of Jesus breaking bread at Emmaus. A surprise hidden detail recently discovered was that the craftsmen of Clarke’s studios remembered their beloved master by including his image in the window entitled The Mass of the Holy Souls.

From left: Mass of the Holy Souls, Basilica of St Vincent de Paul, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA, Peter O’Brien. Detail of Harry Clarke portrait, from Mass of the Holy Souls, Basilica of St Vincent de Paul, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA, Peter O’Brien.

Looking at any Clarke window is always an epiphany. With each new discovery comes the realisation that the artistic genius Clarke possessed is beyond compare.

We will always be grateful to Lucy and Michael for bringing Clarke’s work to our attention, for it inspired us to have our church and its windows placed on the National Register of Historic Places (2011), the highest honour a building can be given in the United States. By including our windows in their first book, they brought Clarke’s work in St Vincent de Paul to a wider audience. Their second book encourages us to take a closer look into the world of Clarke and search for the little things – the hidden detail.

From left:

Nine Chancel Windows Depicting Angels Bearing Symbols of the Mass (1929), Basilica of St Vincent de Paul, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA, Michael Cullen.

Detail of Nine Chancel Windows Depicting Angels Bearing Symbols of the Mass: The Ciborium (1929) Basilica of St Vincent de Paul, Bayonne, New Jersey, USA, Michael Cullen.

Each time we look at our windows and see the Art Deco ruched necklines, the jewels in the ephods, the elongated fingers, the eyes that look back at you, and the costumes that flow beautifully in glass, we know that we are blessed. A renowned New York designer once visited our church and remarked that we possess a finely preserved Fabergé Egg, especially enhanced by the uniqueness of our stained glass.

The perfection of wine comes with time, so too the perfection of art. Every Clarke window is an example of perfection in art. But no matter how many times you’ve visited it, Dark Beauty will now take you to places in the window you’ve never been before. Enjoy the journey!

Priscilla K. Ege, Church Archivist

Peter Keenen O’Brien M.Div., Photographer

Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

29 September 2018: The Feast of the Archangels

Detail of stained-glass window from Section 4 (Panel 10), The Eve of St Agnes (1924): Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Dublin Central, Parnell Square, Dublin, Ireland, The Hugh Lane Collection.

PREFACE

FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH A HARRY CLARKE WINDOW (LUCY)

It was the autumn of 1985. I was a college student, just whittling away time in Dublin before catching the bus to Dundalk. By chance, I found myself in Parnell Square and came upon the Hugh Lane gallery. Always a lover of art, I decided to take a look inside. I still remember the sense of delight I felt when I found myself staring into The Eve of St Agnes. I had no idea who had created this fairy tale in glass. The delicacy of the robes and finery was simply breathtaking. The silver, ruby and the myriad of blues that radiated from the glass were stunning. Whatever I had stumbled upon was quite simply astounding and whoever had created it was imbued with some rare combination of artistic gifts and fantastic imagination. But it’s the detail of the window I still recall from that day: the tiny flickering candles; the stained-glass window depicted within a stained-glass window; the bottle and bowl of flowers on the dressing table; the book and beads draped across the bedside chair.

That was the afternoon I first encountered a Harry Clarke window. Since then I have travelled to many churches and museums to be delighted all over again by a new masterpiece. I am fortunate enough to have one of Clarke’s windows across the road from where I live in Wexford Town. It doesn’t matter how many times I stand before Clarke’s windows. There is so much to excite the senses. The colours are always spectacular as the light flows through each piece of glass, bringing its magic to life. The main characters are always fascinating to stand back and admire. Yet it is the exquisite detail that really adds another dimension to Clarke’s work: the slippers resting on a fringed cushion; the leather-bound book lying on a tiled floor; an ornate Celtic broach fastening a saint’s cloak.

CLARKE’S DICHOTOMY

Much as I admire the delicacy of Clarke’s windows, I also acknowledge that there is an edge to his work that makes it even more captivating. There is light and shade, beauty and deformity, luminosity and darkness. This is particularly apparent in his book illustrations that are populated with a host of characters that delight and entertain the reader, but also gruesome studies of pale, emaciated figures wrapped in shrouds and imprisoned with chains, and, in some of his books, overtly sexualised depictions of deformed and barely human figures. Since Clarke was commissioned by religious institutions for most of his stained-glass windows, there was little opportunity to