''Harry ClarkeDarkness in Light ''is a documentary film originally released in 2003 (Irish-language version titled Harry Clarke - Dorchadas i Solas).

Synopsis

Filmmaker John J Doherty traces the life and work of the Irish artist, book illustrator and

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

artist

Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau and ...

(1889–1931) with major contributions from his biographer Nicola Gordon Bowe as well as many stained glass artists, poets and historians. The film takes the artist's work in

, which was mainly religious an ethereal, and in

book illustration The illustration of manuscript books was well established in ancient times, and the tradition of the illuminated manuscript thrived in the West until the invention of printing. Other parts of the world had comparable traditions, such as the Persi ...

, which was mainly dark and fantastical, as the basis for its title and tells a story of talent, struggle, success and the censorship of his final masterpiece 'the Geneva Window'.

brought his expertise in working in fine decorative detail in glass to his book illustrations, most notably in the tales of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

and Edgar Allan Poe where he is compared to Aubrey Beardsley and which are featured in the film and paralleled with German Expressionist cinema of the time. The film was made in conjunction with the Irish Film Board and national broadcaster

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known a ...

Awards

This film won the Best Arts Documentary award at the 2004 Celtic International Film Festival.
This film won the Best Documentary award at the 200
Worldwide International Fantasy Film Festival - Toronto

Sources

* Nicola Gordon Bowe. 1994. ''The Life and Work of Harry Clarke'' (Irish Academic Press)
''TG4'' awards 2004

''Celtic Media Festival'' awards 1980–2010

External links

''Harry Clarke - Darkness In Light'' official site
2003 films Irish documentary films Documentary films about visual artists History of glass Edgar Allan Poe Films set in the 1920s Films shot in Florida Irish-language films Arts and Crafts movement 2003 documentary films 2000s English-language films English-language documentary films {{Ireland-film-stub