The Elements of Drawing, John Ruskin’s teaching collection at Oxford

The Elements of Drawing, John Ruskin’s teaching collection at Oxford

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Recto: Study of the Sea-horse of Venice. Verso: Partial Diagram showing a Construction for Placing the Honour-Points on a Shield John Ruskin

Location

    • Western Art Print Room

Position in Ruskin’s Collection

Ruskin's Catalogues

  • Ruskin's Rudimentary series, 3rd ed. (1872)

    R|43} Study of the Sea-Horse of Venice (actual size). M.
  • Ruskin's Rudimentary series 4th ed. (1872)

    R|43} Study of the Sea-Horse of Venice (actual size).M.
    Process A. Pure pencil or chalk on white paper.(Standard. Leonardo’s head. Ref. 12. )Copy for practice. R. 43 or R. 44.

    All students are to copy one or other of these: if the smaller hurts their eyes, they are to take the larger. The work is to be entirely with B and HB pencil, on our standard white paper. The subject is (R. 43,) the Venetian Sea Horse, natural size; (R. 44,) its tail enlarged, both from a dried specimen. The living creature is green, almost transparent; and is a kind of animated tendril of sea-grass; abides generally with his spiral tail twisted round a reed in the shallows; swinging, so, to and fro with the tide; swims, superbly, when he changes place, by quivering undulation of his transparent crest and dorsal fin. He is to be drawn that you may learn, first, how to manage an HB pencil so as to show spots, local colour, &c.; secondly, that it may be impressed on your mind that a fish, generally, is a floating head, breast, and stomach, with a tail rather awkwardly put on behind, to steer, or, as in this case, grip with.

  • Ruskin's Rudimentary series, 5th ed. (1873)

    R|43} Study of the Sea-Horse of Venice (actual size). M.
    Process A. Pure pencil or chalk on white paper.(Standard. Leonardo’s head. Ref. 12. )Copy for practice. R. 43 or R. 44.

    All students are to copy one or other of these: if the smaller hurts their eyes, they are to take the larger. The work is to be entirely with B and HB pencil, on our standard white paper. The subject is (R. 43,) the Venetian Sea Horse, natural size; (R. 44,) its tail enlarged, both from a dried specimen. The living creature is green, almost transparent; and is a kind of animated tendril of sea-grass; abides generally with his spiral tail twisted round a reed in the shallows; swinging, so, to and fro with the tide; swims, superbly, when he changes place, by quivering undulation of his transparent crest and dorsal fin. He is to be drawn that you may learn, first, how to manage an HB pencil so as to show spots, local colour, &c.; secondly, that it may be impressed on your mind that a fish, generally, is a floating head, breast, and stomach, with a tail rather awkwardly put on behind, to steer, or, as in this case, grip with.

  • Ruskin's revision to the Rudimentary series (1878)

    43,44,

    To be used at M.r. Macdonald’s discretion. Pen exercise.

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