Art, Symbol & Imagination
The Giant Figure and the Candle: Clarke’s Faust
A long-haired figure bends beside a candle taller than the small people gathered around its stand. A heavy dark garment becomes a landscape for miniature bodies. The great difference in scale gives the decoration the unstable proportions of a dream. Fine vertical lines in the hair answer the candle’s narrow shaft, while the flame stretches almost horizontally. Clarke makes a small introductory ornament feel monumental through these contrasts.
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Citation
Harry Clarke. "The Giant Figure and the Candle: Clarke’s Faust" [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 7. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/faust-clarke-6
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
Faust and His Dark Companion: Harry Clarke’s Plate
Four Grotesque Dancers: Harry Clarke’s Faust OrnamentRelated illustrations
Cite this illustration
Harry Clarke. The Giant Figure and the Candle: Clarke’s Faust. Faust. Scan leaf 7. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/faust-clarke-6