Faust by Harry Clarke
Faust is a well known tragic play in verse, written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Less known is the fact it is actually not his original idea. The legend about Faust (Faustus) existed in Germany centuries before Goethe was even born.
It tells a story about a scholar with an insatiable lust for knowledge who made a pact with a Devil. In exchange for power and pleasures, he agrees to give up on his immortal soul.
There are numerous versions of Faust out there and also many speculations about the origin of the legend, so I prepared few amusing facts for everybody who wants to know more about this classic story.
- Faust is by definition a cautionary tale. It initially warned against too much knew what was very likely especially undesirable in certain centers of power, like Church, which tried to monopolize the knowledge and looked at independent researchers as a threat to stability and their achieved privileges. Soon it became part of folklore, puppeteers, troubadours and all sorts of artists interpreted the story in very different ways.
- First literary Faust was written by Christopher Marlowe, but published only full decade after his death. It is one of the most controversial plays of the era and there are documents stating real devils appeared on stage during some performances in the 17th century. Goethe’s Faust was written almost exactly two hundred years later. It is much more philosophically oriented and was published in two parts. The second part came out only after Goethe’s death, just like in the case of Marlowe.
- Some people believe the character of Faust was designed after a real person, but it is hard to pick just one candidate. Some say he was a wandering magician, some believe the life of Simon Magus, after whom simony, the sin of paying for the position in the church, so colorfully punished in Dante’s Inferno, served as a source. Theophilus of Adana is another name to consider, but we won’t go too much into details.
Let’s try to pay some sort of homage to this great literary work with set of illustrations by Harry Clarke, very interesting illustrator who became famous for his mastery of stained glass. While we can see influences of different art styles in his drawings, it is obvious, his vision of Faust is a perfect example of grotesque and I have to warn you: not for the faint-hearted.
You have probably recognized all the major characters from Goethe’s Faust: Faust himself, Mephistopheles, angels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, Wagner, Gretchen, Martha, Valentine, and others, as they were seen by Harry Clarke, one of the most interesting illustrators of his time.
It tells a story about a scholar with an insatiable lust for knowledge who made a pact with a Devil. In exchange for power and pleasures, he agrees to give up on his immortal soul.
There are numerous versions of Faust out there and also many speculations about the origin of the legend, so I prepared few amusing facts for everybody who wants to know more about this classic story.
- Faust is by definition a cautionary tale. It initially warned against too much knew what was very likely especially undesirable in certain centers of power, like Church, which tried to monopolize the knowledge and looked at independent researchers as a threat to stability and their achieved privileges. Soon it became part of folklore, puppeteers, troubadours and all sorts of artists interpreted the story in very different ways.
- First literary Faust was written by Christopher Marlowe, but published only full decade after his death. It is one of the most controversial plays of the era and there are documents stating real devils appeared on stage during some performances in the 17th century. Goethe’s Faust was written almost exactly two hundred years later. It is much more philosophically oriented and was published in two parts. The second part came out only after Goethe’s death, just like in the case of Marlowe.
- Some people believe the character of Faust was designed after a real person, but it is hard to pick just one candidate. Some say he was a wandering magician, some believe the life of Simon Magus, after whom simony, the sin of paying for the position in the church, so colorfully punished in Dante’s Inferno, served as a source. Theophilus of Adana is another name to consider, but we won’t go too much into details.
Let’s try to pay some sort of homage to this great literary work with set of illustrations by Harry Clarke, very interesting illustrator who became famous for his mastery of stained glass. While we can see influences of different art styles in his drawings, it is obvious, his vision of Faust is a perfect example of grotesque and I have to warn you: not for the faint-hearted.
You have probably recognized all the major characters from Goethe’s Faust: Faust himself, Mephistopheles, angels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, Wagner, Gretchen, Martha, Valentine, and others, as they were seen by Harry Clarke, one of the most interesting illustrators of his time.
