John Ruskin, Modern Painters, volume one

“Of Water, as Painted by Turner”

What are some features of Ruskin’s language? Of his narrative point of view? In what ways is his prose poetic?

What are some reasons Ruskin may have chosen W. M. Turner’s paintings as the subject of his commentaries on water, seascapes and perception?

What interests Ruskin about our perception of reflections in water? Why are these difficult to paint?

How is Ruskin’s approach to nature like or unlike that of Wordsworth? Of the deep ecologists?

What are features of his descriptions of falling water? Why is he concerned with the “spring” and the “plunge” of the fall?

What are qualities of the sea seen by someone who is actually on/in it? (39-40) Could Ruskin know by experience the “prolonged endurance of drowning which few people have courage to go through”?

Why may he be attracted to imagining the sea in a state of violent agitation?

What appeals to him in Turner’s painting, “The Slave Ship”?

After looking at the painting, do you agree that the painting contains “not one false or morbid hue”? What may he mean by this statement?

What aspects of religion seem to attract thim? Why does he find exhilaration in a picture of corpses thrown into the sea?

What do you think would have been the effect of reading Modern Painters for a generation of young Victorians?

from The Seven Lamps of Architecture, “The Lamp of Memory”

What are some passages of this essay in which style follows and creates meaning?

What, according to Ruskin, are the “two strong conquerors of the forgetfulness of men”? (131) Of these, what is unique about architecture?

For whom should we build? What kind of buildings should we build for our descendants?

In your opinion, are Ruskin’s principles now followed? If they were, how might the quality of cities be changed?

What should be the effect of the “golden stain of time”?

What are the essential qualities of nature, in his view, and how may buildings imitate these? (132-33)

Why does he dislike “restoration”? What is dishonest about it? What are some alternatives?

What are some ways in which Ruskin uses personification? (136) Is this effective?

Why do we lack the right to destroy old buildings? Could these principles be applied to other non-replaceable aspects of life, such as supplies of natural resources, forests or water?

What are proper principles of preservation, in Ruskin’s view? (Most of these were embodied in the principles of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings). Do modern restoration projects you have visited seem to abide by the same principles?

from The White Thorn-Blossom

What are some limitations of communication technology and the search for speed, in Ruskin’s view? (367-68)

What is destroying our clean air? our clean water? our earth?

What solutions does he propose to protect and renew each?