A Meeting, an Ode to Harry Clarke
‘A Meeting’, an Ode to Harry Clarke (1889 - 1931)
Verre eglomisé 34cm x 46cm. Yanny Petters 2025
Harry Clarke’s ‘A meeting’ (1918) is a stained glass panel based on a poem by the German poet Heinrich Heine (1797 – 1856) who was known for his lyric poetry, satirical wit and literary critique. It depicts a mermaid and a merman dancing amongst humans. I think Clarke and Heine’s sense of humour with slightly sinister elements is well matched. In the way that the old fairy tales which Clarke illustrated, there is a sense of disquiet, that these stories don’t always have a happy ending.
The Harry Clarke panel is on show at the National Museum in Collins Barracks - see here for more information about the piece.
I have interpreted the piece with an eye to climate change, a meeting of the sea and the land, a portent of the future for humanity and nature.
The panel is composed of two layers of glass, the front one represents the sea, with sea weed and foamy waves encroaching on the land, but not yet overwhelming it. The second panel behind this includes a Hawthorn tree, a typical tree of rugged land which can survive severe weather and become very old, an iconic tree of the Irish landscape. The flowers mingle with the foam and sea weed, the berries glow in golden moon light. Behind this the rising moon causes the spring tides, when water levels are at their peak. The plants and creatures in the scene are typical of the Irish landscape and seascape. But just like the mermaid and the merman, they should each stay in their own natural realm in the future.
Begegnung Heinrich Heine
Wohl unter der Linde erklingt die Musik,
Da tanzen die Burschen und Mädel,
Da tanzen zwei, die niemand kennt,
Sie schaun so schlank und edel.
Sie schweben auf, sie schweben ab,
In seltsam fremder Weise;
Sie lachen sich an, sie schütteln das Haupt,
Das Fräulein flüstert leise:
«Mein schöner Junker, auf Eurem Hut
Schwankt eine Neckenlilje,
Die wächst nur tief in Meeresgrund -
Ihr stammt nicht aus Adams Familie.
Ihr seid der Wassermann, Ihr wollt
Verlocken des Dorfes Schönen.
Ich hab Euch erkannt, beim ersten Blick,
An Euren fischgrätigen Zähnen.»
Sie schweben auf, sie schweben ab,
In seltsam fremder Weise,
Sie lachen sich an, sie schütteln das Haupt,
Der Junker flüstert leise:
«Mein schönes Fräulein, sagt mir, warum
So eiskalt Eure Hand ist?
Sagt mir, warum so naß der Saum
An Eurem weißen Gewand ist?
Ich hab Euch erkannt, beim ersten Blick,
An Eurem spöttischen Knickse -
Du bist kein irdisches Menschenkind,
Du bist mein Mühmchen, die Nixe.»
Die Geigen verstummen, der Tanz ist aus,
Es trennen sich höflich die beiden.
Sie kennen sich leider viel zu gut,
Suchen sich jetzt zu vermeiden.
A Meeting
Under the linden the music is gay,
The couples are gossiping loudly;
And two are dancing whom nobody knows,
They carry themselves so proudly.
Now here, now there, they glide and sway
In wave-like measures beguiling.
They bow to each other, and, as they nod,
She whispers, gently smiling:
“A water-pink is hanging from
Your cap, my fair young dancer;
It only grows in the depths of the sea—
You are no mortal man, sir.
“You are a merman, and to lure
These village maids your wish is.
I knew you at once by your watery eyes
And your teeth as sharp as the fishes'.”
Now here, now there, they glide and sway
In wave-like measures beguiling.
They bow to each other, and, as they nod,
He answers, gently smiling:
“My lovely lady, tell me why
Your hand's so cold and shiny?
And why is the border of your gown
So damp and draggled and briny?
“I knew you at once by your watery eyes,
And your bow so mocking and tricksy—
You are never a child of men, my dear;
You are my cousin, the Nixie.”
The fiddles are silent, the dancing is done;
They part with a ripple of laughter.
They know each other too well and will try
To avoid such a meeting hereafter.