Art, Symbol & Imagination
Four Grotesque Dancers: Harry Clarke’s Faust Ornament
Four sharply contrasted bodies join hands across a narrow rectangular field. Their lifted arms and bent knees interrupt the black background. Clarke gives each dancer a different silhouette, moving from rounded bodily mass to angular extensions. The tiny enclosed format intensifies their linked motion rather than diminishing it. A small circular face or eye in the corner adds another presence to the gathering.
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Citation
Harry Clarke. "Four Grotesque Dancers: Harry Clarke’s Faust Ornament" [editorial title]. In Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; translated by Bayard Taylor; illustrations by Harry Clarke. Undated Arden Book Company edition; Faust Part One, Bayard Taylor translation, Harry Clarke illustrations, undated edition, Arden Book Company. Source scan leaf 12. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/faust-clarke-11
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Complete source design inspected individually. Editorial title; surrounding paper and unrelated text cropped away, integrated ornament retained. No tonal alteration.
Sources
From the book
FaustJohann Wolfgang von Goethe; translated by Bayard Taylor; illustrations by Harry ClarkeUndated editionMore from this book
The Haloed Mother and the Candle: Clarke’s Faust
The Giant Figure and the Candle: Clarke’s Faust
Faust and His Dark Companion: Harry Clarke’s PlateRelated illustrations
Cite this illustration
Harry Clarke. Four Grotesque Dancers: Harry Clarke’s Faust Ornament. Faust. Scan leaf 12. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/faust-clarke-11