Behind the Eyes: The Science of Sight

27 October 2022 – March 2023

Blue Gallery, Brantwood – John Ruskin in the Age of Science (4)

John Ruskin possessed extrodinarily sharp vision and a determination to see the world as clearly as possible. Produced primarily for research and teaching, his work included a wide range of expressive techniques, from meticulous photo-realism to rapid sketches in graphite and watercolour. For Ruskin, to see clearly was to engage with the truth of something divine. Scientifically defined seeing was the starting point and not the endpoint of vision. It was a stepping-stone to a more extensive consciousness. The artist’s duty was to give form to this deeper aspect of seeing.

To that end, Ruskin cultivated ‘heart-sight’ or ‘science with feeling’, a conviction that scientific discovery should be a pillar of a more complete realm of consciousness, depending not only on ‘the cultivation of the instrument of sight itself, but of the soul that uses it’. Experimental, thought-provoking and timely, Ruskin’s art asks us to question not only the art of sight, but also the nature of vision itself.

John Ruskin in the Age of Science

This exhibition was the fourth in the series ‘John Ruskin in the Age of Science’. John Ruskin (1819-1900) lived in an era of rapid scientific progress that shaped modern Britain. Curated by Sandra Kemp (The Ruskin), with Keith Moore (the Royal Society) and Howard Hull (Brantwood). These exhibitions place Ruskin alongside his nineteenth century scientific contemporaries, exploring his influence on science and society, in his time and our own.