The desire of my eyes: The life and work of John Ruskin

by Wolfgang Kemp, illustrated (Illustrator)

The dust jacket has a closed tear to the bottom fore edge corner of the front cover.

Genres: Biography

513 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Soubresaut · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a scholarly 490 page mountain of a book well translated from the German original. It’s not so much a biography of Ruskin, but a detailed analysis of his philosophy, work practices and products, and changing mind and how they interweaved. Ruskin left a wealth of writings from which the author quotes extensively with impressive insight and background knowledge which might even be accurate, I know not. Destined to be a man out of his time as well as his mind, Ruskin travelled well in his life but less so in time. An acute observer, medievalist, dedicated solitary ononist, anti-gricer and a depressive to boot, he deserves to be remembered.

[Robert Costic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruskin was an eccentric, brilliant, and influential art and social critic in Victorian Britain, and this biography does an excellent job of narrating the major events of his life, the world he lived in, and how it all tied in with his ideas.