In Turner’s Footsteps between Lucerne and Thun: #5 Lucerne from near the Hofkirche

Here we continue to explore the sketches in Turner’s Between Lucerne and Thun sketchbook, completing an excursion along the lake front from the Swan Hotel to some distance east of the Hofkirche. These sketches form the basis of a studio watercolour painted in 1845, from which we might infer that the visit was Turner’s last … Continue reading In Turner’s Footsteps between Lucerne and Thun: #5 Lucerne from near the Hofkirche →

Aiguilles of Mont Blanc: A rediscovered watercolour by John Ruskin

Coronavirus restrictions have forced many of us to find imaginative room in small things, but last week I received a pleasant reminder of previous excursions to sublimity on the grand scale. The British Art specialists Lowell Libson and Jonny Harker sent me a link to their new online exhibition ‘Good Prospects’. The selection includes a … Continue reading Aiguilles of Mont Blanc: A rediscovered watercolour by John Ruskin →

Ruskin drawings at King’s College, Cambridge: #4 The Mer de Glace from the Montanvers Hotel above Chamonix

This is the fourth in a series of seven articles that will catalogue an important group of drawings by John Ruskin at King’s College, Cambridge. For general notes on the collection see under article #1. I have to admit that progress with the catalogue has been somewhat slow: Part #3 appeared in 2014. 4. The … Continue reading Ruskin drawings at King’s College, Cambridge: #4 The Mer de Glace from the Montanvers Hotel above Chamonix →

Kirkby Lonsdale: What Ruskin really said.

This article visits the famous ‘Ruskin’s View’ at Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria. It is so christened after a particularly purple description of the scenery by Ruskin. Hardly anyone, however, has ever considered his commentary in full. In what follows we will retrace Ruskin’s footsteps and discover that he said rather more than is generally admitted. … Continue reading Kirkby Lonsdale: What Ruskin really said. →

News: Ruskin’s watercolour of Bellinzona

On 29 September 2014 Sublimesites.co published an article, ‘In Ruskin’s Footsteps at Bellinzona’. This focused on an important watercolour that Ruskin painted there in 1868, and for the first time identified his exact viewpoint. I notice with some interest therefore that Lowell Libson is exhibiting Bellinzona at the Maastrich Art Fair 11-20 March 2016. Alongside … Continue reading News: Ruskin’s watercolour of Bellinzona →

In Ruskin’s Footsteps at Bellinzona: The Salita della Nocca

This article returns the attention of Sublimesites.co to the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona to investigate another site drawn by John Ruskin. Bellinzona has been the subject of two previous articles published on 29 September 2014. The new site is the Salita della Nocca, a narrow, cobbled path that climbs outside the walls to Montebello … Continue reading In Ruskin’s Footsteps at Bellinzona: The Salita della Nocca →

In Ruskin’s Footsteps: the Balconies of Bellinzona

In November 2012 I made a short site visit to the southern Swiss town of Bellinzona. It stands at the entrance to the Ticino valley above Locarno and for centuries served as the southern gateway to the St Gotthard Pass, controlling traffic between northern Italy, especially Lago Maggiore, Milan and Turin, and northern Switzerland including … Continue reading In Ruskin’s Footsteps: the Balconies of Bellinzona →

In Ruskin’s Footsteps at Bellinzona

This article identifies the exact subject of one of John Ruskin's most highly regarded Alpine watercolours. The Swiss town of Bellinzona guards the southern entrance to the Alps from Lake Maggiore, and commands the St Gotthard route from Italy to the north. In 1858 Ruskin found there one of the most important subjects of his … Continue reading In Ruskin’s Footsteps at Bellinzona →

In Ruskin’s Footsteps: Three newly identified architectural subjects at Lucerne

At the end of May I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Lucerne and explore in the footsteps of John Ruskin. Among the subjects that particularly interested me were three unidentified architectural drawings. On the face of it, the chances of identifying their subjects seemed remote. Two drawings record individual timbered buildings … Continue reading In Ruskin’s Footsteps: Three newly identified architectural subjects at Lucerne →

Ruskin drawings at King’s College, Cambridge: #3 The Dent d’Oche range on the south side of Lac Leman from Vevey, Switzerland

This is the third in a series of seven articles that will catalogue an important group of drawings by John Ruskin at King’s College, Cambridge. For general notes on the collection see under article #1. 3. The Dent d'Oche range on the south side of Lac Leman from Vevey, Switzerland, 1846? Pencil and watercolour, on … Continue reading Ruskin drawings at King’s College, Cambridge: #3 The Dent d’Oche range on the south side of Lac Leman from Vevey, Switzerland →