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, 2nd ed. (1874)

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

Educational 2 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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Windmill and Lock (from the Liber Studiorum) Turner

  • Ruskin text

    138. Windmill. (Liber Studiorum). E
  • Details

    Artist/maker
    Turner (Joseph Mallord William Turner) (1775 - 1851) (designer, etcher)
    William Say (1768 - 1834) (engraver)
    Object type
    print
    Material and technique
    etching and mezzotint on paper
    Dimensions
    210 x 293 mm (plate); 271 x 379 mm (sheet)
    Associated people
    Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 - 1851) (publisher)
    Inscription
    Recto:
    within the plate-mark, all etched:
    top centre: P
    bottom left: Drawn & Etched by I.M.W. Turner
    bottom right: Engraved by W. Say Engraver to his H.I .H.the Duke of Gloucester
    bottom centre: FROM A PICTURE IN THE POSSESSION OF I.M.W.TURNER R.A. | Published June 1.1811.by I.M.W. Turner, Queen Ann Street West

    top right, in graphite: 6
    Provenance

    Presented by John Ruskin to the Ruskin Drawing School (University of Oxford), 1875; transferred from the Ruskin Drawing School to the Ashmolean Museum, c.1949.

    No. of items
    1
    Accession no.
    WA.RS.ED.138
  • Subject terms allocated by curators:

    Subjects

  • References in which this object is cited include:

    References

    Ruskin, John, Catalogue of the Educational Series (London: Smith, Elder, 1871), cat. Educational no. 88

    Ruskin, John, Catalogue of the Educational Series (London: Spottiswoode, 1874), cat. Educational no. 138

    Ruskin, John, Catalogue of Examples Arranged for Elementary Study in the University Galleries (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1870), cat. Educational no. 31.C

    Finberg, Alexander J., The History of Turner's Liber Studiorum: With a New Catalogue Raisonné (London: Ernest Benn, 1924), no. 27.III

    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. Educational no. 138

Location

    • Western Art Print Room

Position in Ruskin’s Collection

Ruskin's Catalogues

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