Art, Symbol & Imagination
The Final Curling Figure: Harry Clarke’s Faust Tailpiece
A narrow human face appears within a tall curling body above the word END. Feather-like lines and a long pale limb twist into an asymmetrical flourish. Clarke closes the volume with a living ornament rather than a conventional rectangular scene. The upward face and downward curl give the small image opposed directions, carrying the eye past the last act.
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Citation
Harry Clarke. "The Final Curling Figure: Harry Clarke’s Faust Tailpiece" [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 256. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/faust-clarke-255
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. The Final Curling Figure: Harry Clarke’s Faust Tailpiece. Faust. Scan leaf 256. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/faust-clarke-255