The Elements of Drawing - Softcover

Book 90 of 141: Dover Art Instruction

John Ruskin

 
9780486227306: The Elements of Drawing
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0486227308 ISBN 13: 9780486227306
Publisher: Dover Publications Inc, 1971

Synopsis

Timeless work by one of the greatest art critics of all time begins with bare fundamentals and offers brilliant philosophical advice from sketching to the laws of color and composition. "The truth behind Ruskin's statements is always clear." ― American Artist. 48 illustrations.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

John Ruskin was an English polymath – a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, political economy, education, museology, geology, botany, ornithology, literature, history, and myth.

From the Back Cover

Can drawing--sound, honest representation of the world as the eye sees it, not tricks with the pencil or a few "effects"--be learned from a book? One of the most gifted draftsmen, who is also one of the greatest art critics and theorists of all time, answers that question with a decided "Yes." He is John Ruskin, the author of this book, a classic in art education as well as a highly effective text for the student and amateur today.
The work is in three parts, cast in the form of letters to a student, successively covering "First Practice," "Sketching from Nature," and "Colour and Composition." Starting with the bare fundamentals (what kind of drawing pen to buy; shading a square evenly), and using the extremely practical method of exercises which the student performs from the very first, Ruskin instructs, advises, guides, counsels, and anticipates problems with sensitivity. The exercises become more difficult, developing greater and greater skills until Ruskin feels his reader is ready for watercolors and finally composition, which he treats in detail as to the laws of principality, repetition, continuity, curvature, radiation, contrast, interchange, consistency, and harmony. All along the way, Ruskin explains, in plain, clear language, the artistic and craftsmanlike reasons behind his practical advice--underlying which, of course, is Ruskin's brilliant philosophy of honest, naturally observed art which has so much affected our aesthetic.
Three full-page plates and 48 woodcuts and diagrams (the latter from drawings by the author) show the student what the text describes. An appendix devotes many pages to the art works which may be studied with profit.
Unabridged republication of the text from the Library edition of The Works of John Ruskin, 1904.

From the Inside Flap

Can drawing--sound, honest representation of the world as the eye sees it, not tricks with the pencil or a few effects--be learned from a book? One of the most gifted draftsmen, who is also one of the greatest art critics and theorists of all time, answers that question with a decided Yes. He is John Ruskin, the author of this book, a classic in art education as well as a highly effective text for the student and amateur today.
The work is in three parts, cast in the form of letters to a student, successively covering First Practice, Sketching from Nature, and Colour and Composition. Starting with the bare fundamentals (what kind of drawing pen to buy; shading a square evenly), and using the extremely practical method of exercises which the student performs from the very first, Ruskin instructs, advises, guides, counsels, and anticipates problems with sensitivity. The exercises become more difficult, developing greater and greater skills until Ruskin feels his reader is ready for watercolors and finally composition, which he treats in detail as to the laws of principality, repetition, continuity, curvature, radiation, contrast, interchange, consistency, and harmony. All along the way, Ruskin explains, in plain, clear language, the artistic and craftsmanlike reasons behind his practical advice--underlying which, of course, is Ruskin's brilliant philosophy of honest, naturally observed art which has so much affected our aesthetic.
Three full-page plates and 48 woodcuts and diagrams (the latter from drawings by the author) show the student what the text describes. An appendix devotes many pages to the art works which may be studied with profit.
Unabridged republication of the text from the Library edition of The Works of John Ruskin, 1904.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Dover Publications Inc
Publication date
1971
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0486227308
ISBN 13 
9780486227306
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
228

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781532865794: The Elements of Drawing

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  1532865791 ISBN 13:  9781532865794
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishi..., 2016
Softcover