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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This is the authoritative biography of John Ruskin, the most influential nineteenth-century critic of art and society. It draws on the complete text of Ruskin's diaries and many thousands of unpublished letters and other documents to provide fresh insight into the background and content of Ruskin's numerous books.Amazon.com Review
He was the most famous and influential art critic of his age, and not so incidentally a stern critic of 19th-century English society, but John Ruskin (1819-1900) was so deeply Victorian in thought and expression that he has been out of fashion virtually since his death. British art historian Tim Hilton introduces Ruskin to modern readers in a meticulously researched biography that elucidates his groundbreaking contributions to the study and appreciation of art without mincing words about his personal problems. The Early Years covers the writing of Modern Painters, whose first volume made the 24-year-old Ruskin's reputation as a champion of contemporary artists like J.M.W. Turner, and of The Stones of Venice, which spearheaded England's Gothic revival. Hilton also examines Ruskin's close relationship with his parents and disastrous six-year marriage to Effie Gray, who received an annulment in 1854 because her husband had refused to consummate their union. (Hilton later concludes that Ruskin was sexually attracted only to preadolescent girls.) Lengthy quotations from Ruskin's diaries and letters vividly convey his personality: passionate in intellectual and social matters, argumentative, often insensitive, and prone to crippling depression. Closing in 1859, a time of frustration and stagnation for Ruskin, Hilton looks forward to his subject's mellowing of character and deepening of convictions in the half-century to come. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great if often dry rendition of Ruskin's life
An affectionately and well-written account of Ruskin's life (I'm referring here to parts 1 and 2 of this biography, taken as a whole).As another reviewer has pointed it, the book does move along nicely, leaving the reader feeling as though he has been given a solid picture of a period in Ruskin's life (the book is organized chronologically), though not that he has exhausted all possible accounts of it, accounts which could easily become boring to all but the most devoted of Ruskin's admirers.The only thing for which I would fault the book is its sometimes cumbersome, dry over-emphasis on facts -- lots of facts.We are too often told about where, what and when instead of why.Perhaps it was the author's intention to give an "objective" account of Ruskin's life, one in the shadow of which we'd paint our own picture of Ruskin the man.But that would seem to be contradicted by the obvious affection with which Hilton writes.Nevertheless, it was an informative read and the two volumes evidence Hilton's enormous work of scholarship.Ruskin was one of the most prolific writers we know of, but here Mr. Hilton shows that he familiarized himself thoroughly with Ruskin's works and letters.If for nothing else, we should be grateful for that.With a little humor and more analysis, this would be a near perfect biography.As it is, it's the most authoritative contemporary account of its subject and a fulfilling read.

Absorbing look into the life of a true genius
The first volume of Tim Hilton's biography, John Ruskin: The Early Years, is a fascinating look into the life and work of one of the truly great minds of the nineteenth century. Hilton treats Ruskin's eccentricities with a careful touch. The strangeness of the Ruskin life is there to see. yet the book is not overwhelmed by it. The star here is the Ruskin intellect and artistic sensibility. As a passing fan of Ruskin prior to reading this I felt hugely informed by this book. It is very nicely written and moves at a compelling pace. ... Read more

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The Critical Heritage gathers together a large body of critical sources on major figures in literrature. Each volume presents contemporary responses to a writer's work, enabling student and researcher to read the material themselves. ... Read more

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Lectures on Landscape - Delivered at Oxford in Lent Term, 1871 is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by John Ruskin is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of John Ruskin then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

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Ruskin was the most important aesthetic arbiter of the 19th century. In "The Stones of Venice", "Modern Painters" and "Seven Lamps of Architecture" he developed rules and standards that are contemporary in their range of sympathies. However, Ruskin also wrote thousands of pages of criticism. This anthology by Robert Herbert contains the essential thought of Ruskin on architecture, painting, sculpture and the relationship of art to its social and moral context. ... Read more

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Definitive, concise, and very interesting...From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures - people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. ... Read more

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A Joy For Ever - (And Its Price in the Market) is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by John Ruskin is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of John Ruskin then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

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The influence of John Ruskin (1819-1900), both on his own time and on artistic and social developments in the twentieth century, cannot be over-stated. He changed Victorian perceptions of art, and was the main influence behind 'Gothic revival' architecture. As a social critic, he argued for the improvement of the condition of the poor, and against the increasing mechanisation of work in factories, which he believed was dull and soul-destroying. The thirty-nine volumes of the Library Edition of his works, published between 1903 and 1912, are themselves a remarkable achievement, in which his books and essays - almost all highly illustrated - are given a biographical and critical context in extended introductory essays and in the 'Minor Ruskiniana' - extracts from letters, articles and reminiscences both by and about Ruskin. This twenty-third volume contains Ruskin's writings on the art and architecture of Florence. ... Read more

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Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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148. Returning to our door at Pisa, we shall find these general questions as to the distribution of ornament much confused with others as to its time and style. We are at once, for instance, brought to a pause as to the degree in which the ornamentation was once carried out in the doors themselves. Their surfaces were, however, I doubt not, once recipients of the most elaborate ornament, as in the Baptistery of Florence; and in later bronze, by John of Bologna, in the door of the Pisan cathedral opposite this one. ... Read more

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The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Title: Giotto and His Works in Padua an Explanatory Notice of the Series of Woodcuts Executed for the Arundel Society After the Frescoes in the Arena Chapel; Subjects: Fiction / Mystery ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more