Teachers info - Ruskin

John Ruskin was a famous Victorian writer, art critic, and social commentator. He spent his life looking, writing, drawing and asking questions about everything he saw. He studied geology, and botany. He wrote about art and architecture. He observed Victorian society and wrote and lectured about creating a more compassionate, and caring society. 

John Ruskin in his younger years
 

Curriculum Links/QCA Schemes of work

History - Key Stage 1

4a – How to find out about the past from a range of sources.
6c – The lives of significant men and women drawn from the history of Britain.

History - Key Stage 2

11a - Victorian Britain - study the expansion of trade, colonisation, and industrialisation.

History - Key Stage 3

10 – Britain 1750 – 1900 – study the expansion of trade, colonisation, and industrialisation.

QCA Schemes of Work

How did life change in our locality in Victorian times? Unit 12
Industrial change - action and reaction Unit 11

Bits of Information

  • Ruskin was born on the 8th February 1819 in London.
  • His father, John James Ruskin was a sherry merchant. His mother Margaret Ruskin was a very religious lady. He was an only child and was educated at home, first by his parents and then by private tutors. He wasn’t allowed to mix with other children, and had very few toys. By the age of seven he had learnt large parts of the bible off by heart.
  • He became very skilled at drawing, and drawing remained important throughout his life.
  • At the age of 18 he went to Oxford University. In 1843 whilst still at university he had his first book published. It was called “Modern Painters”, and was a defence of the artist JW Turner. The book made Ruskin famous overnight. He had become an important and influential figure within Victorian society.
  • Throughout his life he would travel extensively. Initially these trips were with his parents, and included trips to France, Italy and Switzerland. On these grand tours Ruskin would continually make sketches and drawings of the landscape and architecture he saw.
  • When Ruskin visited Venice in the 1850’s he was captivated by the special buildings there. He measured, described, and drew extensively the Gothic style of architecture he discovered in Venice. He felt it perfectly reflected the natural world.
  • He continued his writing, and over the years wrote 5 volumes of “Modern Painters”. He then started to write about architecture and published “the Seven Lamps of Architecture”, and “the Stones of Venice”.
  • At this time in the 1860’s Ruskin had become increasingly despairing of the injustices he saw within Victorian society, particularly the terrible working conditions most Victorian factory and mill workers endured. He wrote his most famous book called “Unto this Last” which was an attack upon the disparities of Victorian society. In it he argued for a society that created happiness and good health. He felt that all individuals, from all backgrounds, should learn to help and co-operate with one another. He felt his own society was unhealthy because everyone was competing with each other, and people were only concerned with trying to make money.
  • Ruskin set up the Guild of St George. The idea behind the guild was that it would put into practise some of Ruskin’s social ideas. At the same time Ruskin embarked on writing a series of articles published in newspapers called “Fors Clavigera- Letters to the Working Man”. This was an attempt by Ruskin to share and communicate some of his social ideas.
  • In 1871 Ruskin bought a house on the shores of Coniston in the Lake District. It was whilst living at Brantwood that he wrote “the Storm Cloud of the 19th Century”. In this Ruskin was the first writer to note climate change, and attribute it to industrialisation.
  • Ruskin was Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford at this time, and travelled down by train to give lectures. He was popular with his students because he was such an enthusiastic lecturer.
  • During the last 12 years of his life, Ruskin became ill. He still did some writing and welcomed guests, but he was often depressed and unable to speak. He died on the 20th January 1900 at Brantwood, and was buried at the churchyard in Coniston; surrounded by the mountains he so loved.
    John Ruskin in his later years

Classroom Activities

  • Write a letter to John Ruskin – Get pupils to write a letter to the John Ruskin. They could compare things in their lives to what things were like in Victorian times. They could discuss some of the ideas raised in the comic about looking and seeing. Do they agree with all Ruskin’s ideas? Do they have some ideas of their own about looking and seeing? What different things can you see today that Ruskin in Victorian times would never have seen?
  • Historical Cartoon –strip – Getting inspiration from the comic ask your pupils to make a cartoon strip about either the life of John Ruskin using the information above. Alternatively ask pupils to make a cartoon strip about life in Victorian times. You could provide an A4 sheet of paper divided into 12 boxes to help with the process.

Trigger Questions/ Discussions

  • What differences do you think there are between life now and life in Victorian Britain?
  • Why do you think we are still talking about John Ruskin over a hundred years after his death? What did he do?

Website Links and Other Resources

Brantwood - John Ruskin's former home in the heart of the English Lake District.
www.brantwood.org.uk

Teacher and Pupil information on the Spartacus educational website.
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Jruskin.htm