St. Sauveur, Caen
John Ruskin
1848 or later
Pencil and wash
Collection: Ruskin Foundation, Ruskin Library, Lancaster University
“On their deferred honeymoon in northern France, John and Effie Ruskin travelled from Mont St Michel to Coutances, St Lô and Bayeux before reaching Caen on 22 September 1848, moving on to Rouen for the first two weeks of October, Ruskin's architectural drawing had been well honed in Italy, especially Venice, since 1845, and on this part of the tour he made several elaborate studies at each place, concentrating on curved details of this kind. Niches at St Lô were later used to illustrate the Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849; complete text), as examples of the "vital energy" and natural flow of Gothic architecture.”— Stephen Wildman
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Formatting by George P. Landow
