John Ruskin biography and works

 

Topic 

             John Ruskin

Introduction:

John Ruskin was born in 8 Feb 1819 in London. He was an English writer, art critic, philosopher and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and political economy. His father John James Ruskin was a Scots Wine Merchant. His mother was a religious woman and interested in Bible.  

Slade professor:

In 1869, Ruskin became the first slade professor of fine art at the university of Oxford where he established the Ruskin school of Drawing.

Believe:

Ruskin was a man of intense contradictions like a fish he said that, it is healthiest to swim against the stream. He believed in hierarchy but also that the rich had a responsibility to protect the poor. He believed that all great should communicate an understanding and appreciation of nature.

Four qualities of child:

According to Ruskin there are four qualities of children these are faithfulness, lovingness, modesty and cheerfulness. He said that a man having these qualities can enter into the kingdom of God. He proposes that children should learn through active efforts that which will best fit them for their positions in life.

Works:

Ruskin wrote over two hundred fifty works initially art criticism and history but expanding to cover topics ranging over science, geology, ornithology, literary criticism, the environmental effects of pollution, mythology, travel, political economy and social reform.

Important work:

Two of the best known treatises in architecture were written by John Ruskin are The Seven Lamps of Architecture written in 1849 and The Stones of Venice written in 1851.

Death:

John Ruskin died in 20 Jan 1900 in Coniston. After his death Ruskin’s works were collected in thirty nine volumes Library Edition completed in 1912 by his friends Edward Tyas Cook and Alexander Wedderburn.