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

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

Ruskin's Educational series, 1st ed. (1871)

Ruskin's first catalogue of 300 works for the instruction of undergraduates and his notes on the use of particular examples.

Educational 1 cover

Ruskin's Catalogues: 1 object

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Ruskin assembled a diverse collection of artworks for his drawing school in Oxford, including watercolours by J.M.W. Turner and drawings by Ruskin himself.  He taught students to draw as a way of educating them in how to look at art and the world around them.  

Ruskin divided his Teaching Collection into four main series: Standard, Reference, Educational and Rudimentary. Each item was placed in a numbered frame, arranged in a set of cabinets, so that they all had a specific position in the Collection (although Ruskin often moved items about as his ideas changed). 

When incorporated into the Ashmolean’s collection in the last century, the works were removed from the frames and the sequence was lost.  Here, Ruskin's original catalogues, notes and instructions - in his chosen order and in his own words - are united with images of the works and links to modern curatorial descriptions.

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Enlarged outline Drawing of Holbein's Drawing of a Woman from Basel, turned to the left Arthur Burgess

  • Details

    Artist/maker
    Arthur Burgess (1843 - 1886)
    after Hans Holbein the Younger (1497 - 1543)
    Object type
    drawing
    Material and technique
    watercolour over graphite, with some scratching out, on wove paper
    Dimensions
    685 x 506 mm
    Inscription
    Recto, both in graphite:
    bottom left: STAND 39
    just below (recent): ? Burgess

    Verso:
    towards bottom left, the Ruskin School's stamp
    just below, in ink: A. 12.
    towards bottom right, another impression of the Ruskin School's stamp
    Provenance

    Presumably presented by John Ruskin to the Ruskin Drawing School (University of Oxford); first recorded in the Ruskin Drawing School in 1906; transferred from the Ruskin Drawing School to the Ashmolean Museum c.1949

    No. of items
    1
    Accession no.
    WA.RS.STD.039bis
  • Subject terms allocated by curators:

    Subjects

  • References in which this object is cited include:

    References

    Ruskin, John, ‘The Ruskin Art Collection at Oxford: Catalogues, Notes and Instructions’, Edward T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, eds, The Works of John Ruskin: Library Edition, 39 (London: George Allen, 1903-1912), 21, cat. Standard no. 39bis

Location

    • Western Art Print Room

© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum