The Two Paths
Within John Ruskin's Book "The Two Paths" he discusses many of his ideas, concerns and theories on art and art culture. I will cover but four of what I think to be the more interesting concepts. Balancing true representation of form and 'abstract' human expression in an artwork. The effect art has on a cultures behaviour and vice versa. The idea that the human hand will never be surpassed in its ability to create true art. And finally, I will discuss Ruskin's position on the distinction between art for arts sake, or art for self-recognition and wealth.Born in London, February 8, 1819, John Ruskin was destined to be either a man of God or a man of art and literature. His mother Margaret Cox was a devoted Christian who had dedicated her only child to God before Ruskin was even born. His first education was to be that of the bible, and due to his mother's strict policy of being a Christian, he would end up learning it well. His father, though no less strict, was a highly cultured man. He was not only a collector of art, but also a lover and writer of poetry. This mix of strictness and culture, caused Ruskin's upbringing to be a very successful one in which he learnt to write verse by the age of eight, began taking lessons from a
In his book "The Two Paths" he talks of how nature without the touch of humans, although beautiful, is lacking somewhat, ". He goes on to say that India's people have a talent for art and design which seems to come as natural to them as living itself, ". the love of that which your work represents - if, being a landscape painter, it is love of hills and trees that moves you - if, being a figure painter, it is love of human beauty and human soul that moves you. He defines this as being someone who does the work not for the gratification of skill, or the uplifting of social status and certainly not in the hope or receiving great amounts of wealth, but rather the real artiste is someone who feels ". This particular theory I think may have been applicable at the time, and certainly applies to a few countries still, on the whole however I believe this idea to be outdated somewhat. As I stated earlier Ruskin was influenced greatly by Turner and it can now be seen that Ruskin's excessive enthusiasm for Turner's pictures is based on an instinctive appreciation of their imaginative force, but his defence of Turner is argued on the grounds of their representational truth, their fidelity to the facts of nature. "Out of the peat cottage come faith, courage, self-sacrifice, purity, and piety, and whatever else is fruitful in the work of Heaven; out of the ivory palace come treachery, cruelty, cowardice, idolatry, bestiality, - whatever else is fruitful in the work of Hell" (Ruskin, 1884, 06). "Of all writers on art, Ruskin is the most difficult to evaluate today" (Fishman,1963, 14). "The Two Paths" was originally made as a lecture book and for this reason is written in the manner of direct speech. Ruskin then digresses into a story of his recent trip to Scotland where he was 'painfully' confronted with "a country possessing no valuable monuments or examples of art", yet held all the properties of a sophisticated culture. Later however he goes on to contradict himself by stating that art can contain beauty without the symbolic use of nature, " You have often to obtain beauty and display invention without direct representation of nature" (Ruskin, 1884, 41). The first being he seems to be in limbo as to what is more important in the creation of art.
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