John Reskin biography. John Ruskin Selected Thoughts of John Ruskin

John Ruskin, English art critic, writer, was born in London on February 8, 1819. His father was a co-owner of a wine trading company. The family was pious, and the domestic religious atmosphere left a noticeable imprint on the formation of John's personality. His father was not indifferent to art; at the age of 13, John traveled extensively with his family around Europe. As a student of the British artists J. Harding and K. Fielding, Ruskin achieved considerable success in this field. The object of his image most often was architecture. He had a particular interest in Gothic. During his travels, he usually included in his notes information about geological formations seen in the landscape of certain areas.

Since 1836, John Ruskin has been a student at Oxford University, Christ Church College. In 1839 he won the Newdigate Prize for best poem written in mother tongue. In the spring of 1840, he had to stop studying due to hemorrhage, which doctors associated with tuberculosis. In 1841, Ruskin turned to the essay he had written at the age of 17 and began to write an addition to it. As a result, a large-scale work "Modern Artists" was born. The first of five volumes was published in 1843. Visiting Europe for the first time without his family enriched him with impressions that formed the basis of the second volume, published in 1846. Interest in Gothic architecture resulted in the publication in 1849 of the work "Seven Lamps of Architecture", after which Ruskin focused all his attention on the architecture of Venice, where he and his wife spent two winters saving up material for a book about the stones of this city.

Upon returning to his homeland, the art critic became an active defender of the Pre-Raphaelite artists, who were subjected to public criticism after the exhibition at the academy. A certain period of the biography fell on Ruskin's work as a teacher at the Moscow Workers' College. The course of lectures given on "The Political Economy of Art" (Manchester, 1857) testified to a shift in emphasis from "pure" art criticism to social transformations. The book "To the Last, to the First", which developed this theme, testified to the formation of Ruskin's political and economic views. He proposed to reform the education system, ensure universal employment, and provide assistance to the disabled and old people. The same book became a reflection of his spiritual crisis. Since 1860, depression has become a constant companion of the writer.

In 1869 Ruskin is the first honorary professor of art at Oxford; he assembled a rich collection intended for students various works art. Since 1871, his edition "Fors Clavigera" began to appear monthly, the main audience of which was the working people, artisans of the country. In it, Ruskin promoted handicraft production, called for its revival, talked about places where workshops could be created, etc. The publication, published until 1886, further strengthened his popularity in this social environment.

Ruskin's mental health gradually deteriorated, and by the end of 1873 this began to be reflected in his teaching activities. In many ways, this was due to a stormy unhappy life. Five years later, he developed severe mental illness, manifested by seizures, but, nevertheless, did not deprive him of his memory. Since 1885 last period Ruskin's life is associated with a stay in northern Lancashire, his own estate of Brentwund, where he remained until his death. During 1885-1889. he wrote his latest work- an autobiography called "The Past", which is considered one of his most interesting writings. Ruskin died on January 20, 1900, leaving behind 5 dozen books, 7 hundred lectures and articles. His work has greatly influenced the worldview of such famous people, how

John Ruskin (also Ruskin, John Ruskin, February 8, 1819, London - January 20, 1900, Brentwood) - English writer, artist, art theorist, literary critic and poet; member of the Arundel Society. He had a great influence on the development of art history and aesthetics of the second half of XIX- the beginning of the 20th century.

John Ruskin was born on February 8, 1819 in the family of a wealthy Scottish sherry merchant D. J. Ruskin. Grandfather, John Thomas Ruskin, was a chintz merchant. The atmosphere in the family religious piety, which had a significant impact on the subsequent views of the writer. Even in his youth, he traveled a lot, and travel diaries necessarily included notes on geological formations in the landscape of the countries visited.

He entered the University of Oxford, and later he taught a course in art history there. Having become a lecturer, he insisted on the need for the study of geology and biology by future landscape painters, as well as on the introduction of the practice of scientific drawing: “On fine days, I devote a little time to the painstaking study of nature; in bad weather, I take a leaf or a plant as a basis and draw them. This inevitably leads me to find out their botanical names.

Among his works, the most famous are Lectures on Art. artistic fiction: beautiful and ugly", " English art”, “Modern Artists”, as well as “The Nature of the Gothic”, the famous chapter from the “Stones of Venice”, subsequently published by William Morris as a separate book.

In total, Ruskin wrote fifty books, seven hundred articles and lectures.

Books (5)

Selected Thoughts by John Ruskin

John Ruskin - English art critic 19th century, popularizer of the Pre-Raphaelites and William Turner, public figure. Leo Tolstoy and Marcel Proust turned to Ruskin's works in their writings, finding in his thoughts a philosophy close to them.

Selected Thoughts by John Ruskin is a collection of his sayings on a wide variety of topics. The reader will find here reflections on goodness, morality, God, art, work, wealth, education. They come down to simple, but indestructible truths for the thinker. After all, as Ruskin himself wrote, “all literature, all art, all sciences are useless and even harmful if they do not help you to be happy, and truly happy.”

Lectures on art

In lectures given to Oxford students, the author proposes his own classification art schools and analyzes the contemporary state of art.

The book "Lectures on Art", an absolute must for art historians and students of the humanities.

beauty theory

John Ruskin (1819-1900) - an outstanding art critic of the XIX century, an intellectual by vocation, a public figure who dealt with issues of social injustice.

The book "The Theory of Beauty" is a monologue addressed to the reader, in which the renowned art historian discusses the relationship between art and morality, art and religion, art and nature. In the book, Ruskin not only expresses an opinion, but also substantiates it, sometimes categorically and passionately. As he himself wrote: “To speak and act truthfully constantly and invariably is almost as difficult, perhaps, as to act, regardless of threats and punishments.”

Poet and literary critic. John Ruskin is a multifaceted person. His works influenced the further development of art history in the second half of the 19th century.

John Ruskin was born on February 8, 1819 in London. John grew up and was brought up in the framework of evangelical piety. John's father loved and often traveled with his family to many countries (France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland). Ruskin studied drawing, his teachers were English artists K. Fielding and J. D. Harding. John Ruskin depicted mostly architectural objects, greatly admired the Gothic architecture, which he also painted.

In 1836, John Ruskin entered Christ Church College, Oxford University. Studied geology with W. Buckland. When John was 21 years old, his father gave him a generous allowance. So the two of them could collect paintings written by J. Turner (1775-1851). John Ruskin was awarded the Newdigate Prize for the best poem in the world. English language(1839), but in the spring of the following year, his studies at the university had to be interrupted due to illness: doctors recognized the symptoms of tuberculosis.

Ruskin still wrote a lot, supplementing the essay in which he defended Turner, written by him at the age of seventeen. The result was a five-volume collection - "Modern Artists" (printing of the first volume in 1843).

Closely studying the foundations of Gothic architecture, in 1849 John Ruskin published his essay The Seven Lamps of Architecture. Not a single generation resorted to his ideas of "architectural honesty" and the emergence of ornamentality from ordinary natural forms.

Over time, John Ruskin began to consider Venetian architecture. Together with his wife, he even went to Venice, where he collected material for a book. In "The Stones of Venice" he intended to reveal more the ideas set forth in the "Seven Lamps". The book came out in the midst of a kind of battle of styles and became an integral part of the program of the supporters of the Gothic revival (headed by W. Morris).

In 1869 John Ruskin was given the title of the first honorary professor of art at the University of Oxford. In Oxford, the writer worked hard, was able to prepare an amazing collection of works of art for students. In 1878 he was overcome by a severe mental illness, however, he was able to write the last and most interesting book- autobiography "The Past" (1885-1889). The writer died in Brantwood on January 20, 1900.

Formations in the landscape of visited countries.

Among his works, the most famous are Lectures on Art (Eng. Lectures of Art,), “Artistic Fiction: Beautiful and Ugly” (Eng. Fiction: Fair and Foul), “English Art” (Eng. The Art of England), “Modern Artists” (eng. Modern Painters, -), as well as “The Nature of Gothic” (eng. The Nature of Gothic,), the famous chapter from the “Stones of Venice”, subsequently published by William Morris as a separate book. In total, Ruskin wrote fifty books, seven hundred articles and lectures.

Ruskin - art theorist

Ruskin did a lot to strengthen the positions of the Pre-Raphaelites, for example, in the article "Pre-Raphaelitism" (eng. Pre-Raphaelitism,), and also greatly influenced the anti-bourgeois pathos of the movement. In addition, he "discovered" for contemporaries William Turner, painter and graphic artist, master landscape painting. In Contemporary Artists, Ruskin defends Turner from criticism and calls him "a great artist whose talent I was able to appreciate during my lifetime."

Ruskin also proclaimed the principle of “fidelity to Nature”: “Is it not because we love our creations more than His, we value colored glasses, and not bright clouds ... And, making fonts and erecting columns in honor of That ... we imagine that we will be forgiven for our shameful neglect of the hills and streams with which He endowed our habitation - the earth. As an ideal, he put forward medieval art, such masters of the Early Renaissance as Perugino, Fra Angelico, Giovanni Bellini.

The rejection of mechanization and standardization was reflected in Ruskin's theory of architecture, an emphasis on the significance of the medieval Gothic style. Ruskin praised the Gothic style for its attachment to nature and natural forms, as well as for the desire to make the worker happy, which he, like the adherents of the "Gothic revival" led by William Morris, saw in the Gothic aesthetic. The nineteenth century tries to reproduce some Gothic forms (lancet arches, etc.), which is not enough to express the true Gothic feeling, faith and organicism. The Gothic style embodies the same moral values ​​that Ruskin sees in art - the values ​​​​of strength, firmness and inspiration.

classical architecture in contrast to Gothic architecture, it expresses moral emptiness, regressive standardization. Ruskin associates classical values ​​with modern development, in particular with the demoralizing effects of the Industrial Revolution, reflected in architectural phenomena such as the Crystal Palace. Many of Ruskin's works are devoted to issues of architecture, but he reflected his ideas most expressively in the essay "The Nature of Gothic" from the second volume of "The Stones of Venice" ( The Stones of Venice) in 1853, published at the height of the Battle of Styles raging in London. Beyond the apology gothic style, he spoke in it with criticism of the division of labor and the unregulated market advocated by the English political economy school.

Views on society

While teaching drawing at London's Workers' College, John Ruskin came under the influence of Thomas Carlyle. At this time, he began to be more interested in the ideas of transforming society as a whole, and not just in the theory of art. In the book Unto This Last (1860), which marked the formalization of Ruskin's political and economic views, he criticizes capitalism from the standpoint of Christian socialism, demanding reforms in education, universal employment and social assistance the disabled and the elderly. In 1908, Ruskin's work was translated into Gujarati by an Indian politician Mohandas Gandhi called Sarvodaya.

In 1869 he was elected the first honorary professor of art at Oxford University, for whose students he collected a collection of works of art in originals and reproductions. Ruskin also gained great popularity among artisans and the working class - especially in light of the foundation of his monthly publication Fors Clavigera (Letters to the Workers and Laborers of Great Britain) published from 1871 to 1886. Together with William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites, he sought to reveal the beauty of handicraft production to the workers of industrial areas and to overcome the dehumanizing effects of mechanized labor with the help of art and industrial workshops, where only creative work would be applied. manual labor. Ruskin himself led the first such workshop, called the Guild of St. George.

Personal crisis

In 1848 Ruskin married Effie Grey. The marriage was unsuccessful, the couple separated and in 1854 got a divorce, and in 1855 Effie married an artist

John Ruskin(John Ruskin) (1819-1900), English writer, art critic, champion of social reforms. Born February 8, 1819 in London. Ruskin's parents were D. J. Ruskin, one of the co-owners of a sherry import firm, and Margaret Cock, cousin. John grew up in an atmosphere of evangelical piety. However, his father loved art, and when the boy was 13 years old, the family traveled extensively in France, Belgium, Germany, and especially Switzerland. Ruskin studied drawing with English artists Copley Fielding and J. D. Harding and became a skilled draftsman. He depicted mainly architectural objects, especially admiring Gothic architecture.

In 1836, Ruskin entered Christ Church College, Oxford University, where he studied geology with W. Buckland. At the age of 21, his father gave him a generous allowance, and they both began to collect paintings by J. Turner (1775-1851). In 1839, Ruskin was awarded the Newdigate Prize for the best poem in English, but in the spring of 1840 his further education at Oxford was interrupted due to illness; he began to bleed, which the doctors saw as symptoms of tuberculosis.

In 1841, Ruskin began to supplement the essay he had written at the age of seventeen in defense of Turner's painting. The result was the five-volume work "Modern Artists" ("Modern Painters"), the first volume of which was published in 1843.

In the spring of 1845 he undertook a journey through Switzerland to Lucca, Pisa, Florence and Venice, the first time he set out without his parents, accompanied by a footman and an old guide from Chamonix. Left to himself, he almost freed himself from Protestant prejudices and experienced boundless delight in religious painting from Fra Angelico to Jacopo Tintoretto. He expressed his admiration in the second volume " contemporary artists" (1846).

Focusing on studying gothic architecture Ruskin published The Seven Lamps of Architecture in 1849. Ruskin's characteristic moral rigor corresponded to the spirit of Victorian England, his ideas about "architectural honesty" and the origin of ornamentality from natural forms remained influential for more than one generation.

Ruskin then turned to the study of Venetian architecture. Together with his wife, he spent two winters in Venice, collecting material for the book "Stones of Venice" ("Stones of Venice"), in which he intended to give a more concrete justification for the ideas set forth in the Seven Lamps, primarily their moral and political aspects. The book appeared at the height of the "Battle of Styles" raging in London; since the happiness of the working man was proclaimed in the book as one of the components of Gothic beauty, it became part of the program of the supporters of the Gothic revival, led by W. Morris.

Returning to England, Ruskin spoke in defense of the Pre-Raphaelites, whose exhibition at the Academy in 1851 was received with hostility. Ruskin befriended D. E. Milles, the youngest and most flamboyant Pre-Raphaelite. Milles and Ruskin's wife Effy soon fell in love, and in July 1854, having secured the annulment of Ruskin's marriage, Effy married Milles.

For some time Ruskin taught drawing at the Workers' College in London, fell under the influence of T. Carlyle. Yielding to his father's insistence, Ruskin continued to work on the third and fourth volumes of Modern Artists. In 1857, he gave a course of lectures in Manchester, "The Political Economy of Art" ("The Political Economy of Art"), later published under the title "Joy forever" ("A Joy for Ever"). From the sphere of art criticism, his interests have largely moved to the field of social transformation. Further development this topic was in the book "The Last, the First" ("Unto This Last", 1860), which marks the maturity of Ruskin's political and economic views. He advocated reforms in education, especially in the field of crafts, for universal employment and assistance to the elderly and the disabled. In the book "To the last thing to the first" he expressed spiritual crisis Reskin. Beginning in 1860, he constantly suffered from nervous depression. In 1869 he was elected the first honorary professor of art at Oxford University. At Oxford, he worked hard, prepared for students a collection of works of art in originals and reproductions. In 1871, Ruskin began publishing a monthly publication, "Fors Clavigera", addressed to the workers and laborers of Great Britain. In it, he announced the establishment of the Company of St. George, whose task was to create workshops on infertile lands where only manual labor would be used, as well as to open the beauty of handicraft production to workers from places like Sheffield and gradually negate the disastrous effects of the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries.

By the end of 1873, Ruskin's state of mind began to affect his lectures. In 1878, he was crippled by a severe and prolonged mental illness. However, his memory did not fail him, and his last book, the autobiography "The Past" ("Praeterita", 1885-1889), became perhaps his most interesting work.