Harry Clarke
, Irish, 1889-1931
Title
"Down to the Central Earth, his Proper Scene"Date1913
MediumInk and traces of graphite underdrawing on card
Dimensions
36.9 x 28 cm
Signedlower left (in ink): Harry Clarke/ 1913
on verso: H.C. 1913
Credit LinePurchased, 1936
Object numberNGI.2961
DescriptionClarke's set of wistful yet humorous illustrations to Alexander Pope's Rape of the Lock was commissioned by his early patron Laurence Ambrose Waldron. The National Gallery of Ireland purchased them from Waldron's niece Cicily O'Kelly in 1936. Clarke mastered the same type of dotted line first used by Aubrey Beardsley in his pen and ink illustrations intended for process line production. Comparisons are often made with Beardsley's rendering of Pope's poem, published in 1896. Clarke's use of finely drawn adjacent lines, vertical in the background, but loosely drawn to create the silken strands around the flitting gnome, displays his skilful mastery of the pen. Spleen, also adorned by silken strands, sits amidst his snake bed. This dark underworld scene is marked by a great sense of clarity and depth.
Inscriptionin graphite (on verso): "They are not all lunatics in asylums/ nor artists in an art school"
Exhibition HistoryBristle: Hair and Hegemony, Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, 07 July - 25 September 2017
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