Ruskin’s Perspectives: The Art of Abstraction

22 July – 25 September 2022

Blue Gallery, Brantwood – John Ruskin in the Age of Science (3)

Exhibition Leaflet: ‘Ruskin’s Perspectives: The Art of Abstraction’

Exhibition Blog: ‘Ruskin’s Perspectives’

Ruskin was fascinated by form and pattern, proportion and symmetry, in the world around us and by natural phenomena that epitomised mathematical principles. He used the processes of abstraction to communicate his thoughts through the composition of his works: spheres, cones, crystals, planes and spirals.

Mathematics was at the centre of Ruskin’s art. His three textbooks, The Elements of Drawing, The Elements of Perspective, and The Laws of Fesole – evidence the diffusion of mathematical ideas, methods and materials in his work.

This exhibition drew on the cultural history of maths to explore nineteenth century scientific ideas about the relationship of things and their properties to each other.

John Ruskin in the Age of Science

This exhibition was the second 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 placed Ruskin alongside his nineteenth century scientific contemporaries, exploring his influence on science and society, in his time and our own.

Exhibition Catalogue: ‘Ruskin’s Perspectives: The Art of Abstraction’