JOHN RUSKIN

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(1819-1900)
JEEVAN H
K SAI SRAVANTHI
MADHUMITHA K C
MANASH G
NAVYA J
 JOHN RUSKIN
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• THE ENGLISH CRITIC AND SOCIAL THEORIST MORE THAN ANY

OTHER MAN SHAPED THE TASTES OF VICTORIAN ENGLAND.

• HIS WRITINGS COMBINE ENORMOUS SENSITIVITY AND HUMAN

COMPASSION WITH A BURNING ZEAL FOR MORAL VALUE.

• JOHN RUSKIN'S PRINCIPAL INSIGHT WAS THAT ART IS AN

EXPRESSION OF THE VALUES OF A SOCIETY.

• HE'S BEEN CALLED A "WEIRDO" AND "MANIC-DEPRESSIVE"

• "STRANGE AND UNBALANCED GENIUS"

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▪ "… THE GREATEST GLORY OF A

BUILDING IS NOT IN ITS STONES, NOT
IN ITS GOLD, ITS GLORY IS IN ITS
AGE, AND IN THAT DEEP SENSE OF
VOLCEFULNESS, …....

OF MYSTERIOUS SYMPATHY,….

WHICH WE FEEL IN WALLS

THAT HAVE LONG BEEN
WASHED BY THE PASSING WAVES
OF HUMANITY."
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IMPORTANT WRITINGS

▪ " THE SEVEN LAMPS OF ARCHITECTURE " , RUSKIN AWAKENED

INTREST IN MEDIVAL GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE.

▪ " THE STONES OF VENICE"

▪ THE 19th CENTURY GOTHIC REVIVAL PERIOD OF ARCHITECTURAL

DESIGN IN ENGLAND, BETTER KNOWN AS VICTORIAN GOTHIC, WAS IN
LARGE PART DUE TO THE WRITINGS OF JOHN RUSKIN.
 RUSKIN'S INFLUENCE IN ARCHITECTURE
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▪ JOHN RUSKIN REBELLED AGAINST FORMAL, CLASSICAL ART AND

ARCHITECTURE.

▪ RUSKIN CHAMPIONED THE ASYMMETRICAL, ROUGH ARCHITECTURE

OF MEDIVAL EUROPE.

▪ HIS PASSIONATE WRITINGS HERALDED THE GOTHIC REVIVAL

MOVEMENT IN BRITAIN AND PAVED THE WAY FOR THE ARTS AND
CRAFTS MOVEMENT IN BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES.

▪ LIKE WILLIAM MORRIS AND OTHER ARTS AND CRAFTS

PHILOSPHERS, JOHN RUSKIN OPPOSED INDUSTRIALIZATION AND
REJECTED THE USE OF MACHINE-MADE MATERIALS .
 z IMPORTANT STYLES

▪ POINTED WINDOWS WITH DECORATIVE TRACERY

▪ GROUPED CHIMNEYS

▪ PINANACLES BATTLEMENTS AND SHAPED PARAPETS

▪ LEADED GLASS

▪ QUATERFOIL AND CLOVER-SHAPED WINDOWS

▪ ASYMMETRICAL FLOOR PLANS

 ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT ; FEATURES
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▪ WOOD, STONE, OR STUCCO SIDING

▪ LOW-PITCHED ROOF

▪ EXPOSED ROOF RAFTERS

▪ PORCH WITH THICK SQUARE OR ROUND COLUMNS

▪ EXTERIOR CHIMNEY MADE WITH STONE

▪ OPEN FLOOR PLANS; FEW HALLWAYS

▪ NUMEROUS WINDOWS

▪ SOME WINDOWS WITH STAINED OR LEADED GLASS

▪ BEAMED CEILINGS

▪ BUILT-IN-CABINETS, SHELVES, AND SEATINGS

 THE
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SEVEN LAMPS OF ARCHITECTURE
▪ THESE AREN'T GUIDES FOR HOW TO CREAT A BUILDING. THESE ARE THE
FOUNDATIONS FOR BUILDING WITH INTEGRITY, AT LEAST TO THE MIND OF
JOHN RUSKIN .

▪ THE LAMP OF LIFE IS ALL BUT FORGOTTEN. JOHN RUSKIN VALUED THE
CONTRIBUTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL ARTIST AND CRAFTSMEN. THERE IS LITTLE
IN THE WAY OF CURRENT BUILDING ACTIVITY, WHETHER MODERN OR
TRADITIONAL, THAT CAN BE SAID TO DRAW VALUE FROM THE CONTRIBUTION
OF ITS CRAFTSMEN. MASS PRODUCTION HAS WON THE DAY.

▪ THE ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS PRESENTED HERE ARE LIKE THAT. THEY ARE
PARADIGMS NOT LAWS. THEY PROVIDE VIEWPOINTS, BUT IN THE END MOST
PEOPLE WILL NOT UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPTS. THEY WILL SIMPLY LOOK AT A
BUILDING AND THINK " I LIKE THAT " OR " WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? " THEY
ARE NOT AN UNWORTHY AUDIENCE FOR NOT UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT.
THE CONCEPT WAS DEFICIENT OR IT WAS APPLIED INCORRECTLY, OR
PERHAPS THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WILL ALWAYS SIMPLY BE A MATTER
OF TASTE .
 THE SEVEN LAMP OF ARCHITECTURE
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▪ SACRIFICE : LET ME BORROW FROM THE BIBLE TO EXPLAIN THIS, " DO

EVERYTHING AS UNTO THE LORD" . DO IT WELL AS IF YOU WERE TRYING
TO PLEASE GOD WITH YOUR DESIGN AND CRAFT.

▪ OBEDIENCE : " THE ARCHITECTURE OF A NATION IS GREAT ONLY WHEN

IT IS AS UNIVERSAL AND AS ESTABLISHED AS IT LANGUAGE". JOHN
RUSKIN ASSERTED THAT ENGLAND SHOULD HAVE ONE SCHOOL OF
ARCHITECTURE , A TYPE OF GOTHIC THAT WAS PRECULIARLY ENGLISH.
 THE
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SEVEN LAMP OF ARCHITECTURE
▪ POWER : A BUILDING IS A SHAPE, A MASS. ITS IMMENSITY IS
COMPARISON TO MAN HAS ITS OWN EFFECT APART FROM ITS
ORNAMENTATION. THE ARCHITECT'S JOB IS TO DISPLAY THIS SHAPE TO
ITS BEST EFFECT .

▪ LIFE : THIS HAS LESS TO DO WITH THE BUILDING AS IT IS, BUT RATHER
THE BUILDING AS IT WAS FORMED. BUILDING SHOULD BE MADE WITH
HUMAN HANDS, AND BY THIS HE MEANS SKILLED HUMAN HANDS,
MASONS AND CARVERS AND CARPENTERS. THE LIFE OF THE BUILDER
MUST BE IN THE BUILDING. THOSE WHO BUILD THEIR OWN HOUSES CAN
RELATE TO THIS. RUSKIN WAS AGAINST THE MASS PRODUCTION OF
BUILDINGS AND ANY INNOVATION THAT DECREASED THE SKILL CONTENT
OF THE BUILDINGS.
 THE SEVEN LAMP OF ARCHITECTURE
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▪ TRUTH : YOUR BUILDINGS SHOULD BE HONEST IN HOW THEY PRESENT

THEMSELVES. NO FANCY FACADES HIDING POOR CONSTRUCTION. NO
WOOD PRETENDING TO BE STONE.

▪ MEMORY : BUILDINGS ( AND HOUSES ) SHOULD REFLECT THE CULTURE

AND WHAT WENT ON BEFORE. THEY IN TURN WILL INFORM THE
CULTURE THAT FOLLOWS. JOHN RUSKIN WAS NOT A BIG FAN OF
INNOVATIVE DISRUPTION. EVEN GRADUAL CHANGE IS SOMETHING TO
BE DISTRUSTED. IN SOME WAYS HE WAS THE ULTIMATE CULTURE
CONSERVATIVE.
 THE
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SEVEN LAMP OF ARCHITECTURE

▪ BEAUTY : HERE JOHN RUSKIN REFERS TO SKIN AND ORNAMENTATION.

HE DRAWS HEAVILY ON NATURE, BECAUSE NATURE IS OUR SCHOOL
MASTER FOR BEAUTY. THEREFORE ART IN OUR BUILDINGS SHOULD BE
IMITATIVE OF THE FORMS AND LINES AND SHAPES WE SEE IN NATURE.

IF A COLUMN SEEMS BEAUTIFUL IT IS BECAUSE WE SEE THEM ALL AROUND

US IN THE STEMS OF PLANTS.

IF A POINTED ARCH IS PLEASING TO THE EYE IT IS BECAUSE THAT SHAPE

WAS FIRST PLEASING AS THE SHAPE OF A LEAF.

HE ALSO CASTIGATES SOME ORNAMENTATION THAT IS NOT IMITATIVE OF

NATURE, SUCH AS GREEK KEY,A RUNNING SPIRAL DESIGN COMMON IN
SOME GREEK ARCHITECTURE.
 z CONCLUSION

▪ JOHN RUSKIN WAS AHEAD OF HIS LIFE TIME, AS EVIDENCED BY THE CONTENTS OF
HIS BOOKS, LECTURES,ESSAYS, AND CORRESPONDANCE LETTERS.

▪ HE WROTE ABOUT ISSUES SUCH AS MINIMUM WAGE, HEALTH SERVICES,

PENSIONS, EDUCATION OF WOMEN, POLLUTION, EROSION, AND EVEN GLOBAL
WARMING, AT TIME A HISTORY WHEN THESE WERE NOT COMMON ISSUES.

▪ UPON HIS DEATH ON 20th JAN 1900, NINTEEN DAYS SHY OF HIS 81st BIRTHDAY ,
JOHN RUSKIN LEFT A PROLIFIC LITERARY AND ARTISTIC LEGACY OF WORDS THAT
INCLUDE 39 VOLUMES TOTALLING WORDS, OVER 20,000 LETTERS OF
CORRESPONDANCE, AND THOUSANDS OF SKETCHES, DRAWINGS, AND PAINTINGS.

▪ HE WAS HUGELY INFLUENTIAL AND WELL RESPECTED DURING HIS LIFETIME AND
REMAINS AN INSPIRATION TO THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF MAN TO THIS DAY.
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THANK YOU