Kenilworth

Maker John Ruskin (British, 1819-1900)

ClassificationsDRAWINGS

Daten.d.

Mediumwatercolor and graphite pencil on wove paper

Dimensions12 1/4 x 8 5/8 in. (31.1 x 21.9 cm.)

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gilbert Davis Collection

Status

Not on view

Label TextThe most prominent art critic of the Victorian era, Ruskin advocated art based on a steadfast and direct observation of nature. He praised Gothic architecture and what he imagined was the independent spirit of the medieval craftsman. His ideas inspired a generation of British artists from the Pre-Raphaelites to William Morris. Ruskin was also a prolific and accomplished draftsman, as this ink and wash drawing attests. Its subject, the ruin of Kenilworth Castle, combines his insistence on direct observation with his love of the Gothic. The close viewpoint, looking up and through the ruined structure, focuses on the crumbling tracery of the windows and the twining overgrowth (2022).

Object number59.55.1138

Terms