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Mornings in Florence: Being Simple Studies of Christian Art for English Travellers
Originally published in 1881. Details the author's travels in Italy to view Christian art and architecture. Contents Include: Santa Croce The Golden Gate Before The Soldan The Vaulted Book The Strait Gate The Shepherd's Tower
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1873
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About the author
John Ruskin
3,757 books489 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
John Ruskin was an English writer, philosopher, art historian, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and political economy.
Ruskin was heavily engaged by the work of Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc which he taught to all his pupils including William Morris, notably Viollet-le-Duc's Dictionary, which he considered as "the only book of any value on architecture". Ruskin's writing styles and literary forms were equally varied. He wrote essays and treatises, poetry and lectures, travel guides and manuals, letters and even a fairy tale. He also made detailed sketches and paintings of rocks, plants, birds, landscapes, architectural structures and ornamentation. The elaborate style that characterised his earliest writing on art gave way in time to plainer language designed to communicate his ideas more effectively. In all of his writing, he emphasised the connections between nature, art and society.
Ruskin was hugely influential in the latter half of the 19th century and up to the First World War. After a period of relative decline, his reputation has steadily improved since the 1960s with the publication of numerous academic studies of his work. Today, his ideas and concerns are widely recognised as having anticipated interest in environmentalism, sustainability and craft.
Ruskin first came to widespread attention with the first volume of Modern Painters (1843), an extended essay in defence of the work of J.M.W. Turner in which he argued that the principal role of the artist is "truth to nature". From the 1850s, he championed the Pre-Raphaelites, who were influenced by his ideas. His work increasingly focused on social and political issues. Unto This Last (1860, 1862) marked the shift in emphasis. In 1869, Ruskin became the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Oxford, where he established the Ruskin School of Drawing. In 1871, he began his monthly "letters to the workmen and labourers of Great Britain", published under the title Fors Clavigera (1871–1884). In the course of this complex and deeply personal work, he developed the principles underlying his ideal society. As a result, he founded the Guild of St George, an organisation that endures today.
John Ruskin was an English writer, philosopher, art historian, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and political economy.
Ruskin was heavily engaged by the work of Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc which he taught to all his pupils including William Morris, notably Viollet-le-Duc's Dictionary, which he considered as "the only book of any value on architecture". Ruskin's writing styles and literary forms were equally varied. He wrote essays and treatises, poetry and lectures, travel guides and manuals, letters and even a fairy tale. He also made detailed sketches and paintings of rocks, plants, birds, landscapes, architectural structures and ornamentation. The elaborate style that characterised his earliest writing on art gave way in time to plainer language designed to communicate his ideas more effectively. In all of his writing, he emphasised the connections between nature, art and society.
Ruskin was hugely influential in the latter half of the 19th century and up to the First World War. After a period of relative decline, his reputation has steadily improved since the 1960s with the publication of numerous academic studies of his work. Today, his ideas and concerns are widely recognised as having anticipated interest in environmentalism, sustainability and craft.
Ruskin first came to widespread attention with the first volume of Modern Painters (1843), an extended essay in defence of the work of J.M.W. Turner in which he argued that the principal role of the artist is "truth to nature". From the 1850s, he championed the Pre-Raphaelites, who were influenced by his ideas. His work increasingly focused on social and political issues. Unto This Last (1860, 1862) marked the shift in emphasis. In 1869, Ruskin became the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Oxford, where he established the Ruskin School of Drawing. In 1871, he began his monthly "letters to the workmen and labourers of Great Britain", published under the title Fors Clavigera (1871–1884). In the course of this complex and deeply personal work, he developed the principles underlying his ideal society. As a result, he founded the Guild of St George, an organisation that endures today.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 26, 2023
Parts of this are very inspiring but it isn’t a book I would think of as a must read unless you are planning a trip to Florence.
June 22, 2018
Ruskin es, con toda su candidez y su erudición, pura delicia.
February 8, 2024
Изключително неприятен господин е Джон Ръскин. Във филма "Г-н Търнър" го бяха представили като заекващ сноб, когото Търнър презираше. Тогава ми се стори грубо и неоправдано, но след този суетен пътеводител, който зарязах малко след средата, мога да се съглася, че Майк Лий е бил близо до истината. Ако ми се бе случил злощастният късмет да обикалям Флоренция с господин Ръскин, щях да побързам да се отърва от присъствието му.
September 19, 2012
One of the greatest books on Italian Art ever. The most accessible work of a feisty genius of a victorian art critic and Oxford Don. This book teaches you how to approach a work of art. Ruskin put everything he had into the works he examined, which was not negligible.
June 23, 2015
Immeasurable insight from Ruskin. Best described as an unconventional guide to Florentine art and architecture, not without his insertions of critiques and lessons. It will make an invaluable (and enlightening) companion to the city.
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September 5, 2008Reading this book is like walking in Forence with John Ruskin, stopping to look carefully at various paintings and frescoes.
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June 28, 2016A delightful book of art and Florence
If you want to stroll through Florence in a book and "see" some of her lesser known works, this book is for you.
If you want to stroll through Florence in a book and "see" some of her lesser known works, this book is for you.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews