Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1900-02-15
John Ruskln.

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John RuSkin died ut Brentwood
Conistan Water, England, on Jan. 20.
He was born in the heart of London,
in 1919, his father icing wealthy
wine merchant. He was writing fol
the press before he was sixteen, and
he graduated from Oxford in 1912 d..
He studied art for year and then
wrote most remarkable book, enti-
tied "Modern Painters" which
brought him fame and storm Of
abuse He soon became noted as q
great master Of words, and he began
reeling of book after book on art and
scientific subjects. He was made
Professor Of Fine Arts at Oxford fol
many years. He was one of the chief
pioneers in the Pre-Raphaelite move
ment, and also paid great attention to
economic and social problems. His
"StoneS Of Venice" is probably his
most widely read book.
In the death Of John Ruskin the
world has lost one Of its greatest
thinkers and one of the Masters of
English. His death had been expect
ed for some time, and it is doubtful if
it has created anything like the inter-
est which it would have done some
thirty years ago. He was one Of those
unfortunate writer's who outlive their
own reputation. He viii never be
forgotten, but his place in literature
has been steadily declining for the
last twenty years His writings are
injured by a bilious temperament,
which resulted in outbursts of wrath
upon the smallest occasion, and the
views Of Ruskin in most eases was
Numerically opposed to modern pro-
gress; and while he storms at machin-
cry, railways and steamboats, and eth
er things which enable us to carry on
our existence in Il comfortable and
economical manner, his diatribes are
Away entertaining. His magnificent
prose full of Oriental imagery is a
lesson to all writer's. The value of
Ruskin's art writings is not very great
al the present time, but he opened
the eyes of a Philistine generation to
the beauty OF Art. and for this alone
we would never cease to thank him.
He told people what to see and how
to see it. They saw with their own
eyes, and abandoned his conclusions
and deductions, which were usually
based on wrong priori premises
The result has been that as an adyo-
cate Of art he is rcvered, but as
special pleader he is seen at his worst.
His ideas on art education are all
wrong and his theories do not stand
the test Of logic. His views on geol-
ogy, botany, social science and polit-
zeal economy, while pleasing and
clothed superbly with an elegance
such as these sciences have never be-
fore had, are still almost yaluelcss.
The artist repudiates his art system,
the geologist his geological writings,
and the political economist laughs al
the absurd theories which would set
Us back three hundred years One
writer has said nat "he literally cot
to the bottom Of Hothing;' with all
his immense enthusiasm for science
and art ne was superficial. His later
life va, saddened by . cerebral dis
order, the gradual increase of which
strengthened the view which many
held that his genius was closely akin
% madness. lie was not even consis-
teni, for wai.e spending thousands of
pound, 81 the nottingham and
preaching from every lecture plat
form and urging men to read his Cos
pei Of life, he publishes his works in
such manner that they were very
expensive, ana his profits from CHS
alone must have been enormous.
sometimes over $1,000 year. and
still he wondered why people doubted
his ,incerity. Scientific American.