On Art and Life (Penguin Great Ideas) and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading On Art and Life (Penguin Great Ideas) on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Penguin Great Ideas : On Art And Life [Paperback]

John Ruskin

RRP: £4.99
Price: £3.74 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £1.25 (25%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 6 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Tuesday, 28 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £4.49  
Paperback £3.74  
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

2 Sep 2004 Penguin Great Ideas
Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are.

Frequently Bought Together

Penguin Great Ideas : On Art And Life + Useful Work v. Useless Toil (Penguin Great Ideas) + Penguin Great Ideas : On the Shortness of Life
Price For All Three: £11.22

Buy the selected items together


Product details


More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

About the Author

John Ruskin was born in London in 1819. He became a towering literary figure in the nineteenth century, known for his writings on both art and on political economy. He became the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University in 1869. John Ruskin died in 1900.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
IF the reader will look back to the division of our subject which was made in the first chapter of the first volume,* he will find that we are now about to enter upon the examination of that school of Venetian architecture which forms an intermediate step between the Byzantine and Gothic forms; but which I find may be conveniently considered in its connexion with the latter style. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.0 out of 5 stars  2 reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Beauty Remembered 2 Nov 2006
By Kevin Fuller - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Nietzsche said that with the death of the sacred, Beauty would continue, albeit accidentally.

Mr. John Ruskin, however, set his sights on an earlier age, developing six principles that could be applied to gothic beauty, and in so doing, in my eyes, set down the principles for Beauty in general.

The principles are: Rudeness, Changefulness, Naturalness, Grotesqueness, Rigidity and Redundancy.

In our post-industrial age, perhaps the most telling is the first, Rudeness. Mr. Ruskin defines Rudeness as the introduction of originality into a work at the expense of a polished, finished product. What, you may ask? That's not how I do it at work! Me either brother, but it's nice to know why nothing I produce is beautiful.

Which leads me to my next point concerning this little gem of a book. These principles can be applied, in my view, to Beauty in general, not just gothic. And it provides an interesting point of view with which to look at life. Suddenly, many of the 'best things' in life truly are free.

I had no real education in aesthetics before reading this book, and have now delved deeper into the subject because of it.

Maybe you will too.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars How to appreciate art and life 21 July 2008
By Steve Burns - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This little book contains two essays from John Ruskin:"The nature of Gothic" and "The work of iron".
This book opened my eyes to the nature of different types of buildings and the nature of the art used to adorn them. What type of stone or metal was used and why were certain decorations were used in the work. I had previously given no thought to this. I will now look on ancient buildings as works of art.
In the last essay he explains the life giving properties of iron. How it gives life to the soil and the fact that it rusts, shows it is alive. I enjoyed his rant against how hideous iron rail fencing was around homes and how it was arrogant and saying that your property was so valuable that you were keeping everyone out. He points out that iron rail fencing is not good for any purpose. Ruskin had very srong political beliefs that come out in this work, he says that anyone benefitting from cheap labor is STEALING from those people that are not being paid for their work. That insight can be directed to us in the 21st century.
"The best art either represents the facts of its own day, or, if facts of the past, expresses them with accessaries of the time in which the work was done. All good art, representing past events, is therefore full of the most frank anachronism, and always ought to be. No painter has any business to be an antiquarian. We do not want his impressions of suppositions repecting things that are the past. We want his clear assertions respecting things present." (Page 45)
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges