James Baquet

    The 19th century can be considered the “age of the critic.” We shall look at two this week, the first being John Ruskin (1819-1900). Although an artist in his own right, Ruskin was more famous for his writings about other artists than for his own work.

    An only child, Ruskin’s interests were indulged by his parents, who took him on numerous tours despite their modest means. They traveled throughout England and Scotland, and later to France, Belgium, Germany, and Italy. The young Ruskin developed a great love for the Alps, and called Venice “that paradise of cities.” He continued to travel throughout his life, often returning to favorite places.

    This gave him a uniquely informed perspective on both art and nature. When he began developing his own aesthetic philosophy, he explored the links between nature, art, and society, and in his first major work, “Modern Painters I” (1843), he declared that the artist’s role in society was to portray “truth to nature.” In defending the style of J. M. W. Turner, he argued that the artist must capture the spirit of what he sees, and not be bound by convention or a strict realism.

    Ruskin was known as much for his style as for his content. “Modern Painters I” established him as the leading art critic of the Victorian era, as well as giving rise to friendships such as that with Turner.

    It was followed by a second volume in which Ruskin suggested that the aesthetic and the divine were closely linked, saying truth, beauty, and religion were tied up with each other. Three more volumes were also published.

    Alas, this lover of beauty was unlucky in love. His wife, Effie Gray (for whom he had written his only fairy tale when she was a child) left him for an artist we have met previously, John Everett Millais. He was also successfully sued in absentia for libel by the prickly James McNeill Whistler — who was awarded only one farthing in damages.

    As an Oxford professor, his public lectures and open letters covered a wide variety of topics, consistent with his philosophy that “The teaching of art... is the teaching of all things.”

    Vocabulary

    Which word above means:

    1. the usual way things are done

    2. without being there

    3. without a lot of money

    4. quick to take offense

    5. one who writes of the merits of another’s work

    6. most of the 19th century in England

    7. point of view

    8. the smallest British coin from 1860-1960

    9. writing bad things about someone