Ruskin's Sea Writing
F2. Maritime Culture, Heritage, Archaeology, Art and MuseumsDefinition
Nineteenth-century critic's reflections on Turner's seascapes.
Ruskin’s sea writing is the marine criticism and description of John Ruskin (1819 to 1900), the Victorian art critic. In Modern Painters (five volumes, 1843 to 1860) he defended J. M. W. Turner’s seascapes against academic critics and analyzed wave form, cloud, and the truth of water in extended prose, notably the chapter on the truth of water. The Harbours of England (1856) treated Turner’s port and coastal scenes. Ruskin’s close observation of the sea shaped later marine art criticism and nature writing.
Source: J. Ruskin, Modern Painters (1843 to 1860) and The Harbours of England (1856).