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

An orange-red sun rises behind dark blue and purple clouds in the bottom centre-left, streaking the cloud above with orange. Above this two areas of pale blue sky show through the remaining purple clouds, which are tinged with pink in the top left of the painting. This is one of a group of three watercolours, of similar size on blue-grey paper, depicting early morning skies at Denmark Hill in March 1868. (The others are nos 3 and 4 in the Educational Series.)

The work was first catalogued in 1871, in the first Educational Series catalogue, as no. 3 C; it remained in the same position, although renumbered as no. 5, in the second Educational Series catalogue, and in Ruskin's 1878 reorganisation of the series.

Ruskin chose this work for its 'extreme simplicity in method of work' (first Educational catalogue, p. 27), including it as a factual record of a beautiful scene, and as a symbol of the way the light of inspiration can transform the ordinary into perfection. It was also intended as an example of a practical exercise in visual memory: speed was of the essence in achieving the desired effect, starting with a delineation of the clouds in pencil, colour then being added while the memory was fresh. It was vital to stop working the moment the mental image faded. The idea was to produce a simple reminder of the sky at that particular point in time. He advised his readers to 'Rise early, always watch the sunrise and the way the clouds break from the dawn' (The Two Paths, § 137 = XVI.371).