Harry Clarke - A quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore

 The Nativity with the adoration of the three Kings and the Shepherds, St Barrahane's Church, 1918

Throughout the year when friends have been visiting Dublin, I have become weary of showing them the popular and well advertised cultural highlights of Dublin, and a few pubs as well. You can easily weave your way through the centre of Dublin visiting Neary’s, Grogans, The Stags Head and Davy Byrnes, but touring around Dublin’s main attractions has recently been less of a thrill. The National Gallery has closed many of its rooms, and the queues for the Book of Kells are not desirable when rain clouds block the horizon.

 

Details from St Barranhane's St Luke 1924 (top), Martin of Tours 1921 (middle), and St Louis 1921 (bottom) 

On a recent trip to west Cork I happened upon an idyllic little church positioned on a hilltop at the end of the main street in Castletownsend. St Barrahane’s is not short of very fine stained glass windows and among them are four remarkable windows or lights designed and produced by Harry Clarke in 1919.

Harry Clarke was born in Dublin in 1889 and died in Switzerland of tuberculosis in 1931. In his short but highly productive life he quickly became renowned not only for his work in stained glass but his work in the graphic arts. Most notably tomes published by George Harrap & Sons employed Clarke's unique grasp of a stylish grotesque for illustrations and designs in their publications of works by writers such as Edgar Allen Poe [Tales of Mystery and Imagination], Hans Christian Anderson, and the creator of the fairytale, Charles Perrault. The illustrations in these books stand shoulder to shoulder with the works of the more celebrated illustrator and designer Aubrey Beardsley.

Harry Clarke has often been compared with Beardsley and I believe any such comparison is unfair. While Beardsley was chiefly a product of the Art Nouveau and aesthetic movement, Harry Clarke in contrast straddled a number of aesthetic worlds but principally drawing inspiration from other sources such as the arts and crafts movement in England, Art Deco, the Celtic revival tradition and associated mysticism at the time, and the many rich styles, trends and fashions associated with the belle époque and decorative arts from continental European Countries. In the midst of the rich decorative traditions of the early 19^th Century, Clarke was also clearly heavily influenced by the 1916 uprising, the unimaginable industrial slaughter of the First World War, and the unfortunate divisions of Irish nationalism brought about by the Irish Civil War.

Harry Clarke’s stained glass is uniquely intimate drawing the viewer into a medieval inspired magical world, where the beautiful and hideous, youthful and aged inhabit a deeply atmospheric world of richly patterned silks and armour. Many of his windows have wonderful delicate vignettes; subject matter and depictions that you would not easily associate with the religious fervour of the 1920s in Ireland. Invariably you are captured by their style and crackling confection of colour.

My interest aroused in Harry Clarke’s work, coupled with the unappealing queues and limited access to other Dublin highlights, I decided to commence one tour of Dublin at Bewley’s in Grafton Street. There are six secular, highly decorative lights in the bustling main room on the ground floor of Bewley’s coffee house, produced by Harry Clarke in 1927 and 1928. These elegant windows are principally inspired by the Art Deco movement, an apt choice for this decadent landmark building in Dublin’s principal shopping street, but often overlooked or taken for granted.

 

 Details from the windows in Bewleys, Grafton Street, Dublin installed 1928

Attempts are often made to set Harry Clarke into a lineage of stained glass craftsmen beginning with Louis Comfort Tiffany, but he should be more closely aligned to the work of Gruber and the Dau brothers in France. It is well documented that Clarke spent periods in London and Paris. In London he had an association with the Arts and crafts inspired stained glass studios of the Glass House in Fulham. While there he came into contact with Kevin Parsons, and Wilhelmina Geddes who would also work in Ireland with An Tur Gloine.

 Details from windows at St Joseph's Church Terenure; "The Annunciation" 1922 and "Coronation of the Virgin" 1923

While a number of the rooms in the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art on Parnell Square are closed, as you approach the entrance to the gallery on the ground floor on the left hand side you can find the stunning windows depicting the life of Saint Agnes. These windows are quite small and the various scenes must be viewed close up to observe the detailed fairytale world and stories related by Clarke. The National Museum in Collins Barracks also houses the work of Harry Clarke; a light he designed and made as a student in 1912 depicting the Unhappy Judas Iscariot, and a small exquisite oval panel entitled the meeting produced in 1918. Both are different in style and execution; the former is a traditional ecclesiastical lancet window for a church, and the latter a secular panel designed and executed in a similar manner to many of his illustrations for George Harrap.  

Many of Clarke's designs for stgained glass windows are a departure from the Victorian traditional Christian world of shining idealised saints portrayed as crusading Christian knights. The 19^th century saints are replaced with the unexpected, organic, magical, and ghoulish world created by Clarke depicting ghouls and goblins bringing a sinister and mysterious tone to the work, not always easily reconciled with the religious fervour of 1920s Ireland.

 

Details form the windows of Sts Peter and Paul Church Balbriggan: "The Visitation" and the "Widow's Son" 1924.

Using the rail network travelling north of Dublin other stained glass windows by Harry Clarke can be found in Clontarf at the Scots Presbyterian Church, Donabate at St Patrick’s Church, Lusk at St Maculinds Church and Balbriggan at Sts Peter and Paul’s Church. Hidden away in Dublin’s outlying towns and villages are some of the most important works of the decorative arts from the 1920s. One can travel to Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna and Barcelona to view the popular, recognised and celebrated works that defined this decade however an equally impressive cadre of design and craftsmanship remains largely unrecognised and unapplauded in churches and institutions around Dublin and throughout Ireland.

Details from St Patrick's Church Donabate (top) 1926, and from St Maculind's Church Lusk (middle and bottom) 1924.

French Christmas Adventure 2

This post is a little late going up but it is still worth looking back over good times. One of the great tasks we have when going back to France is "casser les noix" or breaking the nuts! These walnuts have been dried and stored since they were carefully harvested in mid september. They taste stunning and there is no comparison to those you might buy bagged in the shops; they are full of flavour and rich in their natural oil. Afterwards the brittle shells are used to light the fire in the morning and we often relax with a cup of coffee in hand watching the shells glowing red.

The marche in Besancon was a hive of activity throughout Christmas. All the butchers were busy displaying inticate pretty joints of meat, and many different types of specially raised foul from Bresse and elsewhere could be purchased. The rest of the stalls had magnificent displays of fresh fruit and vegtables. Winter reveals the wealth of smoked meats available in the this region which are particularly renknowned. I have been told that in Roman times the smoked ham was a prized export and I have no reason to doubt this. During Winter the region of the Haut Doubs could become isolated and its inhabitants cut off due to long periods of snowfall. In order to surviive it was necessary to prepare food and preserve as much as possible of it. The people were required to be self sufficient to survive on their communal stocks and stores in their large characteristic farmhouses, which would also be employed in the sheltering of the cattle and their feed as well. The typical farmhouse would have a large chimney indicating a smoking room and attached to a wall of most houses would be a hemisperical wood fired oven.

Le Reveillon was a magnificent marathon of a feast commencing with the extra special marinated foie gras of Jeannine Marie Reine Delacroix, followed by the prawns and monkfish a la bourgogne. After an interlude, when Pere Noel made an appearance to deliver gifts, the meal recommenced with Jeannine's slow roasted leg of lamb. In the south of France it is customary to have thirteen deserts, a task which I was thankfully spared. Instead, a selection of homemade berry sorbets and the buche du noel were served following the selection of locally produced cheeses.

Christmas day arrived and the snow had by now melted and the river Doubs had begun to rise, flooding the low lying fields that borded the river. Another marathon meal was planned, and I contributed a tart au citron and a tart aux pommes to the menu. The new taste for small courses served in verrines or small glasses, was much in evidence as a succession of courses were served during the afternoon prior to the principal dishes of snails which were followed by magret de canard served with a pumpkin gratinee and traditional sweet chestnuts.

After Christmas we planned a day trip north towards the Vosges Mountians and Alsace. The Irish have a long history in this part of France dating back many centuries; St Columban arrived in the vacintiy of the Vosges mountains now within the departments of Haute Soane and Alsace in about 587. He founded a monastary on the site of the then ravaged gallo-roman settlement of Luxonium, the modern town Luxeuil -les- Bains. Excavations had been taking place on the site of the funerary church of Saint Martin for a number of years, but from October and throughout December there were many media announcemnts on television and in the papers relating the recent developments and finds associated with these excavations. The excavations were concluding during January and among some of the most important finds disclosed in the reports were 125 sarcophagi dating to the Merovingian age, and the crypt of Saint Valbert.

Our day trip began early on the 26th December, and we took a train witha destination a little further north of Luxeuil into the Vosges to the city of Colmar in Alsace and the department of Haut Rhin. It was a bright still morning and through the lingering freezing fog we could see the countryside was covered with a mantle of thick coarse frost. The first part of the trip took a course along the banks of the Doubs which in places was still flooded and frozen, and in others where the valley narrowed and the river turned tighly around a succession of bends we saw the waters rise in great acts of rejection to counterflows and currents as the river swelled and flooded unpredictably. Leaving Mulhouse we entered a different landscape; a plain with the Vosges mountains bording the horizon.

Colmar

The foundation of Colmar is recorded to be in the 9th Century, but settlements such as this one often have an earlier origin. The site became one of the most important in the area by the 12th Century.  Today this quaint city is too easily passed and missed on the way to Strasbourg. At school I learned of the constant change of this region's borders; this struggle appears at this remove as a constant series of ceding and annexation of borders. While the ecclesiastical history has made a visible impact on the medeval city the proximity of Germany and its historical influence is also quite visible. On the edge of the medeval city there is a small quarter which has network of canals passing through it, and indeed small streams shaped the contours of some of the streets as they pass through the city. While St Petersburg and Amsterdam may be compared to  Venice, Colmar also shares this elegant quality and atmosphere.

 Church of St Martin built between 1234 and 1365

It was a day of firsts for me as I had decided to add to my Christmas girth by having a choucroutt with it meats for lunch with a local reisling wine. We commenced our meal with a tarte flambee, which was for me a lesser known Alsation staple dish. This is a very thin and crisp dough topped with creme fraiche, onions and lardons and cooked in a very hot wood fired oven. We followed it with my first choucroutt garni. There is no pomp and ceremony afforded to this dish of fermented cabbage and pork, but it worthy of some celbration. It was a considerable feast with various types of pork sausage, poitrine, lard and quenelles de foie perched on and around the mound of pale sweet cabbage. I failed to clear my plate, which is a statement in itself, but was sufficiently fortified to walk around the pretty streets of Colmar for the afternoon.

This unusual photograph I have included because I have come to associate a number of regions with their distinctive and indigenous local stone; locally quarried stone used in the edifaces and walls of many structures throughout a town gives a city a certain individual character. In Besancon there is the striking and austere grey and blue limestone, but a little further north I was greeted by the soft and warm combination of yelllow and red sandstones. This example comes from the side wall of the Unterlinden Dominican Convent which dates to the 13th Century. It is now known as the Unterlinden Museum housing primarily a religious collection and the Isenheim alterpiece, but there is also an archaeological collection with objects from the La Tene, Gallo-Roman, and Merovingian periods.

At Christmas time in Alsace many cities have special markets in the town's center and Colmar's Christmas market is quite exceptional. The curved and twisted short streets, and narrow or small squares of this medeval city were filled with huts selling everyting from artisanal bakers to vendors of vin chaud. The streets were filled with people wandering about gazing into these huts and musing over their wares. We purchased another Alsation favourite to nibble on the way home on the train: Kugelhopf is akin to an upside-down  brioche, being cooked in a barley twist mould containing dried fruit and dotted with sugar. The flavours and sights of Alsace and Colmar had escaped my attention previously, but it is worthy of severable visits and is again evidence of the great regional diversity of tradition, food and wine in France.

Roman mosaic found in Cotswolds

Photo: Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard

The Wiltshire and Gloucestersire Standard reported on Tuesday, 20th January, that a Roman Mosaic had been found in the Cotswolds near Kemble by a pair of metal detector enthusiasts. They made their discovery on Sunday after returning from a day’s unsuccessful metal-detecting but noticed the field, which they had covered previously, had been freshly-ploughed.
After noticing several tesserae, which are small tiles used to make a mosaic, the pair got permission from the landowner to dig a one square foot hole, and uncovered the edge of the mosaic. The article went on to state that the mosaic which has been uncovered is believed to be the biggest Roman mosaic discovered to date in north west Europe, and there is a suggestion that the mosaic could be 40 foot in diameter.

The mosaic is described as depicting an Orpheus scene. The fragment of mosaic pavement published in the Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Standard reveals an animal's foot and thorax as it walks around an arc or circle. Orpheus was represented in a number of ways on mosaic pavements during the Romano-British period, but is typically portrayed seated with a lyre on his left knee, and wearing a Phrygian cap. Uniquely in the Roman world the Romano-British mosaic workers portrayed Orpheus at the center of their mosaics surrounded by concentric circles depicting animals and birds. It will come as no surprise that this mosaic follows in that tradition but it remains to be seen how big and elaborate the mosaic is. The part uncovered is reported as being undamaged, however the fact tesserae were found alerting the two men to the possible existence of the mosaic suggests the mosaic will not be in perfect condition. Furthermore, the story clear illustrates the mosaic is not buried deep enough to prevent damage from ploughing.

The most noted and elaborate of these Romano-British Orpheus mosaics was first referred to in 1695 in Gibson's "Camden". It was not until 1797 when Samuel Lysons published his work on the this particular mosaic pavement entitled "An Account of the Roman Antiquities discovered at Woodchester". Woodchester is situated off the Roman road that connected Gloucester (Glevum) to Cirencester (Corinium), where the mosaics were found in a graveyard. It is interesting to note the Woodchester mosaic is approximately 9 kilometers from Kemble (as the crow flies).

The Gloucester countryside and the Cirencester hinterland have yielded a number of significant finds such as the Roman villas at Chedworth, Barton Farm, Withington, Frocester Court, Great Witcombe, not to mention the individual finds in Cirencester (Corinium) and Gloucester (Glevum). It is clearly evident the region supported a prolific demand for mosaics and mosaic workers. Scholars researching and studying the Romano-British mosaics are in general agreement that there were up to three workshops, or officinae, working in this region during the 4th century. They are as follows; the Corinian Orpheus officina operating circa 300 A.D. - 320 A.D., the Corinian saltire officina operating circa 320 A.D. - 350 A.D., and finally the Durnovarian officina operating 340 A.D. - 370 A.D.

I am always captivated by these stories relating the discovery of mosaics and other archaeological remains. They invariably give a little extra insight into the romanisation of the tribes, lands and provinces of north western Europe. On a more personal note, my university thesis examined Romano-British mosaics and the existence of evidence to suggest economic and cultural links to other provinces in the Roman world. The adoption of Roman culture by the Gallic, Germanic, and British kingdoms and tribes was to some extent universal with theatres, amphitheaters, fora and richly decorated houses and villas appeared in most of the new settlements developed under Roman control.

I would subscribe to the view that the ebb and flow of the Roman army's superiority and control of the Rhine frontier caused economic uncertainty in the Gallic and German provinces towards the end of the third century, and consequently some mosaic workers may have have fled to Roman Britain, which they saw as a safe and strong economic haven. Many mosaic pavements can be dated with some certainty to the second and third centuries in Roman Britain, however the the size, quality, and subject matter of many of the pavements that date to the late third and fourth centuries reach a new level, enriched by the availability of newly arrived mosaic craftsmen and workshops with the latest designs.

To illustrate the speed with which traditions and fashions spread throughout the Roman Empire, it is interesting to note that following the official toleration of Christianity in the Roman Empire in 312 A.D. archaeological evidence suggests the Christian faith was flourishing in Roman Britain within a very short period of time. Mosaics discovered at Hinton St Mary and Frampton in Dorset are decorated with Christian symbols and iconography. Only 16 miles apart, these mosaics not only depict the Chi Rho symbol, but images of Christ, alongside a repertoire of traditional mythological pagan images.

A number of questions arise. Were the Christians in Roman Britain mono-theistic? Can these mosaic pavements truly represent a flourishing of Christianity? The romanisation of Roman Britain was in many respects a thin veneer of Roman culture applied or imposed on the Celtic tribes and the practice of indigenous pagan gods does not appear to have been fully suppressed by the Romans. Druidism was an notable exception. It could be said that the subject matter of these mosaics are more likely to be a barometer of a desire for religious subjects than the practice of an official religion. The historian and biographer Aelius Lampridius records in his life of the Emperor Alexander Severus, who reigned between 222 A.D. and 235 A.D., the fact images of Christ, Orpheus, Abraham and Apollonius of Tyana were to be found in his lararium [XXIX].

Worship in the Christian faith throughout the empire may have changed in the hundred years that separate the reign of Alexander Severus and the production of the mosaics at Hinton St Mary and Frampton, however one cannot escape the enduring contradiction that over this period the pagan repertoire of Greco-Roman mythology, including the depictions of Orpheus, remained current in many mosaics connected with the Christian faith. Moreover, and using the example of the lararium of Emperor Alexander Severus, one can easily support a theory that the typical wealthy Roman-British villa owner would commission an overall moral theme for the rooms to be decorated with mosaics, which could be represented by depictions of Christ, Orpheus and the Belerophon and Chimera scenes.

One might think that the discovery of Romano-British mosaics was a frequent event across southern England. It is true that the discovery of mosaic pavements is not infrequent but they are rarely as dramatic and potentially significant as the one discovered near Kemble. John Paddock, curator of Corinium Museum, stated: "The discovery of any mosaic in Britain is a significant one... It’s a new site which is very exciting and in an architectural career spanning many years I have never discovered a mosaic." Indeed, Romano-British archaeology is going through a period of exciting discoveries as I note in August 2008 the Telegraph newspaper reported another significant find on the Isle of Wight, following the commencement of further excavations at Brading Roman villa.

One can only hope the site where the mosaic was discovered can be properly excavated and the mosaics preserved. There have been incidents in the past, and in recent times, where the mosaic pavements have been clandestinely removed never to be seen again. An unfortunate incident occurred in 1948 when a mosaic was stolen from Brantingham Roman villa in Yorkshire. On another note, it would be rather nice to see an image of the entire mosaic some time soon, rather than being hidden away for a number of years in a museum storage facility. There is a tendency for these wonderful objects to be stored away from the public view and effectively disappear. An extreme example of this occurred in 1820 following the discovery of an Orpheus mosaic at 11 Dyre Street in Cirencester, Gloucestershire; a drawing of the mosaic was finaly published 66 years later in a "History of Cirencester" K. J. Beecham.