Torrent in Tyrol n.d.

John Ruskin made this drawing of a ‘Torrent in Tyrol’ sometime in the 19th century, in pen and brown ink over graphite on paper. Ruskin was one of the great advocates for the crafts, in the teeth of what he saw as the dehumanizing effects of industrialization. His reverence for manual skill is obvious here; the precise lines and carefully observed textures speak to hours of patient work. The drawing's monochromatic palette forces us to focus on the act of mark-making. Note how the density of the lines increases in areas of shadow, and thins out where the light catches the roiling water. Ruskin clearly wants us to appreciate the inherent qualities of the pen as a tool, and the paper as a surface, much as he admired the stonemasons and woodcarvers of the pre-industrial age. For Ruskin, this kind of artmaking was a form of resistance. He saw beauty and value in labor when it was performed with attention and care.