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.

The Good Life - Pain D'Epices

After last weeks cooking adventure, I have decided to redress the balance and encourage a little entente cordiale. I suggested to Corinne that I would attempt to make pain d'epices for Christmas. Her mood, which resists some of my extra curricular cooking, immediately brightened. A broad smile filled her face and she described in simple detail her personal nibble of choice; a thin slice of pain d'epices, with a slice of butter, and another thin slice of pain d'epices on top. "A sandwich", I said, but in the knowledge that this was far from being a modest sandwich.  This combination may sound like an artery bursting experience, however this most luxurious of festive spice breads is as much part of the French Christmas tradition as the traditional fruit cake or Christmas pudding would be in Ireland, and England. It is often served as an aperitif or can be presented in delicately thin slices to accompany a specially prepared foie gras.

A large slab of pain d'epices among buches de noel and other festive treats from the ancient producer Mulot-Petitjean, Dijon

The recipes for pain d'epices are as varied as its origins. Some authors believe it to have originated with the Chinese, the Greeks, others mention the Romans, and nearly all refer to the Arab tradition, through whose lands many of the spices required were transported and traded. It is made in a variety of manners throughout France and northern Europe. Its basic spiced flavours permeate the speculoos biscuits produced in the low countries at this time of year, and in spiced and seasoned ginger breads produced in Germany and Alsace. Certain types of pain d'epices are associated with certain cities in France such as Reims and Dijon, where it has been produced for hundreds of years. In the city of Dijon there are a number of traditional shops selling large slabs of pain d'epices and other spiced cakes and confections such as nonnettes. The facade of Mulot - Petitjean in Dijon has remained the the same since 1842 and the decadent and richly decorated interior of the shop cannot have changed much either.

Mulot - Petitjean, Dijon

The first task we had was to identify the spices to use in our pain d'epices. This proved to be quite difficult because just about everything I have read provided a different list of spices with varying quantities. Most acknowledge, and include in varying amounts, the core spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and ground clove. However, other recipes incorporated other spices which one would expect to find, and to taste, in pain d'epices. Eventually we settled on a recipe, which we found in a very interesting blog called Les Jardin de Pomone. The recipe is as follows: 15g ground cinnamon bark, 20g ground anise seed, 3g ground nutmeg, 5g ground coriander seed, 5g ground ginger, seeds from 5 cardamon pods ground, and 10 cloves ground. To this I also added a few twists of the pepper mill in acknowledgment of the Roman colonists in the vicinity of Dijon, and Burgundy.

The honey, spice and sugar mixture being combined with the wholegrain flour and the parfait jar of ground spices

Having read a few recipes, we could not decide which one would be the best to use. Once again the measures and ingredients varied greatly, allowing us to fall back into a state of confusion having only just solved the secret of the spices. We finally resorted to phoning Patricia, our principal contact for all things culinary in France. She provided us with a list of the following ingredients for a 1 pound loaf tin; 200g good honey (preferably a mountain honey or one from a single source), 100g soft light brown sugar, 100g milk, 1.5 teaspoons of the spices, zest from half a lemon and zest from half an orange chopped finely, a pinch of salt, 1 egg, 250g flour (most recipes suggest a rye flour but I am using a stone ground wholegrain flour), 1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder. In somewhat of an interesting departure form the norm, Patricia added a teaspoon of pastis to her recipe, however I allowed myself my own variation, or elaboration, and decided to add a teaspoon of fleur d'oranger. The ingredients are somewhat surprising when you first cast your eye over then, but once put into operation the recipe comes together quickly and very easily.

 The loaves of pain d'epices cooling in their baking tins

Into a heavy based steel saucepan pour the honey, sugar, milk, zest, spices, salt and fleur d'oranger. Dissolve all these ingredients together over a low flame stirring from time to time. Once dissolved and well combined, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Whisk the egg and combine well with the cooled honey, sugar and spice mixture. In another bowl combine the flour, bicarbonate soda and baking powder. Gradually stir the flour into the honey, sugar, spice and egg mixture. Once well combined, spoon the mixture into a buttered  and floured loaf tin. This can then be placed into a preheated oven at 160 Celsius for one hour. The pain d'epices is cooked if a skewer drawn from the loaf is clean. Once cooled the pain d'epices should be stored for a few weeks wrapped in plastic. This aromatic bread softens as it matures, and the flavours develop with time becoming the perfect accompaniment to a festive foie gras with a sweet wine, or simply eaten with butter.