pt. 1. Of general principles. pt. 2. Of truth

John Ruskin

J. Wiley & son, 1888

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OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES	1

bake or	2

General structure of the earth The hills are its action	3

General laws which regulate the phenomena of water First The imperfection of its reflective surface 329	6

Instance in the Dutch and early Italian schools	7

Schools of Florence Milan and Bologna	13

Meaning of the term execution	18

resulting from	19

Why unpardonable	342

The Dutch painters of sea	343

Ruysdael Claude and Salvator	344

Nicolo Poussin	345

Venetians and Florentines Conclusion	346

Of Water as Painted by the Moderns 1 General power of the moderns in painting quiet water The lakes of Fielding	348

The character of bright and violent falling water	349

The admirable waterdrawing of J D Harding	350

Reasons for insisting on the infinity of Turners works	22

Of Ideas of Beauty	26

The first quality of execution is truth	30

Local color how far expressible in black and white and with	31

Of Ideas of Power as they are dependent	36

Danger is sublime but not the fear of	42

282AARAHA	43

That the Truth of Nature is not to be dis	50

PAGE	65

G Robson D Cox False use of the term style	97

Samuel Prout Early painting of architecture how deficient	103

And of the Venetians generally	109

Modern architectural painting generally G Cattermole	115

Influence of this feeling on the choice of Landscape subject	125

Changes introduced by him in the received system of art	133

OF GENERAL TRUTHS	140

Of Truth of Color PAGE 1 Observations on the color of G Poussins La Riccia	155

Turner himself is inferior in brilliancy to nature	157

Poussin and Claude	158

Turners translation of colors	160

Notice of effects in which no brilliancy of art can even ap proach that of reality	161

Reasons for the usual incredulity of the observer with respect to their representation	162

Color of the Napoleon	163

Necessary discrepancy between the attainable brilliancy of color and light	164

This discrepancy less in Turner than in other colorists	165

Turner scarcely ever uses pure or vivid color	166

The basis of gray under all his vivid hues	167

The variety and fulness even of his most simple tones	168

His dislike of purple and fondness for the opposition of yel low and black The principles of nature in this respect	169

His early works are false in color	170

His drawings invariably perfect	171

Of Truth of Chiaroscuro 1 We are not at present to examine particular effects of light	174

And therefore the distinctness of shadows is the chief means of expressing vividness of light	175

And partial absence in the Dutch	176

The perfection of Turners works in this respect	177

The effect of his shadows upon the light	178

The distinction holds good between almost all the works of the ancient and modern schools	179

Second great principle of chiaroscuro Both high light and deep shadow are used in equal quantity and only in points	180

And consequent misguiding of the student	181

The great value of a simple chiaroscuro	182

Of the Open	204

Secondly as its Appear	191

Breadth is not vacancy	197

First of the Region	216

4 The symmetrical arrangement of its clouds	217

Their exceeding delicacy	218

Causes of their peculiarly delicate coloring	219

Total absence of even the slightest effort at their representa tion in ancient landscape	220

The intense and constant study of them by Turner	221

His vignette Sunrise on the Sea	222

His use of the cirrus in expressing mist	223

His consistency in every minor feature	224

Recapitulation	225

Secondly of the Cen tral Cloud Region 1 Extent and typical character of the central cloud region	226

The clouds of Salvator and Poussin	227

Their angular forms and general decision of outline	228

The composition of their minor curves	229

Their characters as given by S Rosa	230

Vast size of congregated masses of cloud	231

And consequent divisions and varieties of feature	232

Imperfect conceptions of this size and extent in ancient land scape	233

14 Total want of transparency and evanescence in the clouds of ancient landscape	234

Farther proof of their deficiency in space	235

Instance of perfect truth in the sky of Turners Babylon	236

And in his Pools of Solomon	237

Association of the cirrostratus with the cumulus	238

Farther principles of cloud form exemplified in his Amalfi	239

Instances of the total want of it in the works of Salvator	240

The multiplication of objects or increase of their size will not give the impression of infinity but is the resource of novices	241

Farther instances of infinity in the gray skies of Turner	242

The average standing of the English school	243

Thirdly of the Region of the RainCloud 1 The apparent difference in character between the lower and central clouds is dependent chiefly on proximi...	244

And in definiteness of form	245

Value to the painter of the raincloud	246

The old masters have not left a single instance of the paint ing of the raincloud and very few efforts at it Gaspar Poussins storms	247

The great power of the moderns in this respect	248

His weakness and its probable cause	249

Impossibility of reasoning on the rainclouds of Turner from engravings	250

Moment of retiring rain in the Llanthony	251

And of commencing chosen with peculiar meaning for Loch Coriskin	252

The drawing of transparent vapor in the Lands End	253

Deepstudied form of swift raincloud in the Coventry	254

Effects of Light rendered by Modern	266

plains its rest	271

Mountains come out from underneath the plains and are their support	272

Structure of the plains themselves Their perfect level when deposited by quiet water	273

General divisions of formation resulting from this arrange ment Plan of investigation	274

Of the Central Mountains 1 Similar character of the central peaks in all parts of the world	275

Causing groups of rock resembling an artichoke or rose	276

Vignette of the Andes and others	277

Total want of any rendering of their phenomena in ancient art	278

Their total want of magnitude and aerial distance	279

And violation of specific form	280

Farther illustration of the distant character of mountain chains	281

Illustrated from the works of Turner and Stanfield The Borromean Islands of the latter	282

Turners Arona	283

Want of this decision in Claude	284

The perpetual rendering of it by Turner	285

General principles of its forms on the Alps	287

Average paintings of Switzerland Its real spirit has scarcely yet been caught	289

by being divided into beds	290

And by lines of lamination	291

The perfect expression of them in Turners Loch Coriskin	292

Glencoe and other works	293

Compared with the work of Salvator	294

And of Poussin	295

Effects of external influence on mountain form	296

The gentle convexity caused by aqueous erosion	297

The exceeding simplicity of contour caused by these influ ences	298

And multiplicity of feature	299

The fidelity of treatment in Turners Daphne and Leucippus	300

The rarity among secondary hills of steep slopes or high pre cipices	301

And consequent expression of horizontal distance in their ascent	302

The use of considering geological truths	303

Expression of retiring surface by Turner contrasted with the work of Claude	304

The peculiar difficulty of investigating the more essential truths of hill outline	305

Importance of particular and individual truth in hill drawing	306

Works of Copley Fielding His high feeling	307

Works of J D Harding and others	308

Of the Foreground 1 What rocks were the chief components of ancient landscape foreground	309

curves	310

Peculiar distinctness of light and shade in the rocks of nature	311

And total want of any expression of hardness or brittleness 31	312

Their absolute opposition in every particular	313

Especially of Turner	314

Its exceeding grace and fulness of feature	315

Importance of these minor parts and points	316

Ground of Cuyp	317

The entire weakness and childishness of the latter	318

General features of Turners foreground	319

And perfect unity	320

Various parts whose history is told us by the details of the drawing	321

Turners drawing of detached blocks of weathered stone	322

And of complicated foreground	323

not affect right ones	330

Water takes no shadow	331

Modification of dark reflections by shadow	332

Examples on the waters of the Rhone	333

Effect of ripple on distant water	335

Effect of rippled water on horizontal and inclined images	336

Deflection of images on agitated water	337

Various licenses or errors in water painting of Claude Cuyp Vandevelde	339

And Canaletto	341

The sea of Copley Fielding Its exceeding grace and rapidity	351

But deficiency in the requisite quality of grays	352

Works of Stanfield His perfect knowledge and power	353

Of Water as Painted by Turner 1 The difficulty of giving surface to smooth water	355

Morbid clearness occasioned in painting of water by distinct ness of reflections	356

How avoided by Turner	357

The error of Vandevelde	358

Difference in arrangement of parts between the reflected ob ject and its image	359

The boldness and judgment shown in the observance of it	360

The texture of surface in Turners painting of calm water	361

Relation of various circumstances of past agitation c by the most trifling incidents as in the Cowes	363

Expression of contrary waves caused by recoil from shore	364

Turners painting of distant expanses of water Calm inter rupted by ripple	365

His drawing of distant rivers	366

And of surface associated with mist	367

The abandonment and plunge of great cataracts How given by him	368

Difference in the action of water when continuous and when interrupted The interrupted stream fills the hollows of its bed	369

But the continuous stream takes the shape bed	370

His exquisite drawing of the continuous torrent in the Llan thony Abbey	371

And of the interrupted torrent in the Mercury and Argus	372

Sea painting Impossibility of truly representing foam	373

Character of shorebreakers also inexpressible	374

Their effect how injured when seen from the shore	375

32 Turners expression of heavy rolling sea	376

Peculiar action of recoiling waves	377

General character of sea on a rocky coast given by Turner in the Lands End	378

Open seas of Turners earlier time	379

Effect of sea after prolonged storm	380

Turners noblest work the painting of the deep open sea in the Slave Ship	382

Its united excellences and perfection as a whole	383

SECTION VI	384

Laws common to all forest trees Their branches do not taper but only divide	385

And care of nature to conceal the parallelism	386

And of the Italian school generally defy this law	387

Boughs in consequence of this law must diminish where they divide Those of the old masters often do not	388

Boughs must multiply as they diminish Those of the old masters do not	389

Boughdrawing of Salvator	390

All these errors especially shown in Claudes sketches and concentrated in a work of G Poussins	391

Impossibility of the angles of boughs being taken out of them by wind	392

Boughdrawing of Turner	394

Perfect regularity of Poussin	395

Exceeding intricacy of natures foliage	396

How followed by Creswick	397

Perfect unity in natures foliage	398

How rendered by Turner	399

Universal termination of trees in symmetrical curves	400

Altogether unobserved by the old masters Always given by Turner	401

Foliage of J D Harding Its deficiencies	402

His brilliancy of execution too manifest	403

His boughdrawing and choice of form	404

Opposition between great manner and great knowledge	406

Hunt and Creswick Green how to be rendered expressive of light and offensive if otherwise	407

The truth of Turner 183	409

Extreme difficulty of illustrating or explaining the highest truth	410

The exceeding refinement of his truth	411

And nothing which knowledge will not enable us to enjoy	412

Standing of his present works Their mystery is the conse quence of their fulness	413

Conclusion Modern Art and Modern Criticism	414

The entire prominence hitherto given to the works of one artist caused only by our not being able to take cognizance of character	415

No man draws one thing well if he can draw nothing else	416

General conclusions to be derived from our past investigation	417

Modern criticism Changefulness of public taste	418

General incapability of modern critics	419

How the press may really advance the cause of art	420

By which the public defraud themselves	421

Sketches not sufficiently encouraged	422

The duty and after privileges of all students	423

What should be their general aim	425

Duty of the press with respect to the works of Turner	427

spirit has scarcely	v

Turners painting of French and Swiss landscape The lat	viii

Farther illustrations in architectural drawing	xii

The common selfdeception of men with respect to their	1

Painting as such is nothing more than language	2

Two great resultant truths that nature is never distinct	4

The fourth inadequacy and the fifth decision	5

Illustrated by Turners Marengo	6

The principle of Turner in this respect	7

work of Clande	8

D	13

Swift execution best secures perfection of details	17

19 And consequent expression of horizontal dastare a ther	19

Entire expression of tempest by minute touches and circum	20

11	25

Full statement of all these facts in various works of Turner	29

30 Full statement of all these facts in various works of Turnet	30

Of the Relative Importance of Truths	45

The importance of truths of species is not owing to their	51

Necessity of determining the relative importance of truths 58	58

Yet even the legitimate sources of pleasure in execution	113

117	117

Of the Foreground	126

SECTION II	142

The pictures of the old masters perfect in relation of middle	157

196	196

Of the Central Mountai 1 Similar character of the central I	i

world	v

Of Ideas of Power	1

General truths are more	2

Causing groups of rock resembling	3

The faithful statement of these fact at Daybreak	4

And consequently totally false in relation of middle tints	5

Necessary distance and consequent	6

mountains 7 Total want of any rendering of their	7

Character of the representations of A Claude	8

And fondness for ideas of power leads to the adoption of	9

And violation of specific form	10

Even in his best works	11

Farther illustration of the distant cha chains	12

Not owing to want of power over the material	13

19	14

Turners Arona	15

Space and size are destroyed alike by distinctness and	16

Want of this decision in Claude	17

The perpetual rendering of it by Turner	18

Effects of snow how imperfectly studied	19

20	20

Average paintings of Switzerland Its real sp yet been caught	21

The same moderation of slope in the contours of his	23

5 Works of other modern artistsClarkson Stanfield	27

Sublimity is the effect upon the mind of anything above it 41	41

His rendering of Italian character still less successful	42

60	60

72	72

143	143

2	144

But gains in essential truth by the sacrifice	150

202	202

Burkes theory of the nature of the sublime incorrect	218

34	219

222	222

Of the Foreground	236

21	243

stances in the Coventry 255	255

Salvators limestones The real characters of the rock	259

24	260

23	287

29	297

Of the Foreground	323

pictures 324	324

Of Water as Painted by the Ancients 1 Sketch of the functions and infinite agency of water 325	325

Difficulty of properly dividing the subject 326	326

Difficulty of treating this part of the subject 328	328

Common terms and phrases

appear artist beauty become believe blue body called CHAPTER character clear clouds color conception considered dark dependent distance distinct drawing edge effect entirely equally especially evident expression fact fall false feeling foreground give given gray greater ground hand highest hills human ideal ideas imagination imitation important impossible impression influence instance intense Italy kind knowledge landscape leaves less light lines look mass masters means mind mountain nature necessary never object observed once painter painting particular perfect perhaps picture pleasure present principle proportion pure qualities reason receive reference reflection relation rendered represented respect rest result rock seen sense separate shade shadow side space speak surface things thought tion tone touch trees true truth Turner whole

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Bibliographic information

QR code for pt. 1. Of general principles. pt. 2. Of truth

Title	pt. 1. Of general principles. pt. 2. Of truth Volume 1 of Modern Painters, John Ruskin
Author	John Ruskin
Publisher	J. Wiley & son, 1888
Original from	Harvard University
Digitized	23 Oct 2007

Export Citation	BiBTeX EndNote RefMan

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