John Ruskin
English Victorian writer and art critic (1819 to 1900) who turned to critiquing political economy.
At a glance
Main ideas
Truth to nature, Joy in work, Social affections …
See all 5Books to start with
Modern Painters I, The Stones of Venice, Unto This Last …
See all 4Connections
Thomas Carlyle, Unto This Last and William Morris
See all 3
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Ruskin was an English writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist.
- He wrote on art, architecture, political economy, education, geology, botany and much else, always stressing the links between nature, art and society.
- He first came to attention defending J.
- M.
- W.
- Turner in Modern Painters, and later championed the Pre-Raphaelites.
- From the late 1850s his work turned to social and political questions, starting with Unto This Last.
Why it matters
- He was very influential up to the First World War, and his ideas are now seen as anticipating environmentalism, sustainability, ethical consumerism and craft.
Key facts
- Born
- 8 Feb 1819, 54 Hunter Street, Brunswick Square, London1
- Died
- 20 Jan 1900, Brantwood, aged 80; buried at Coniston1
- Education
- Christ Church, Oxford, from 1837; won the Newdigate Prize for poetry in 18391
- Slade Professor
- First Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford, from 1869, where he set up the Ruskin School of Drawing1
- Fors Clavigera
- Monthly letters to "the workmen and labourers of Great Britain", from 1871 to 18841
- Guild of St George
- Founded by him as the practical outcome of Fors Clavigera; it still exists1
- Home
- Brantwood, on Coniston Water, from 1872 until his death1
Main ideas
-
Truth to nature1
The artist's first duty is "truth to nature": art rooted in experience and close observation.
-
Joy in work1
Gothic ornament expresses the artisan's joy in free, creative work, which machinery takes away.
-
Social affections1
Orthodox political economy ignores the human motives and affections that bind communities together.
-
Against the division of labour1
Dividing labour separates the worker from the product of his work and dehumanises him.
-
The Law of Help1
"Government and cooperation are in all things and eternally the laws of life."
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
Connections
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us
The line under a date fills as time passes: empty when new, then one equal share each for a day, a week, a month and a year. For episodes and other items it is full at 2 years; for "last checked", at a year. A striped line means the date is known only to the month or year.