Orange and purple leafspray 1870

John Ruskin rendered this unnamed leaf spray in watercolor, achieving a high level of botanical detail. Ruskin, a leading art critic of the Victorian era, championed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, whose aesthetic was rooted in depictions of nature. This coincided with the Industrial Revolution, when many artists turned to nature in response to urban expansion. Ruskin believed that the careful observation and rendering of natural forms could lead to moral and spiritual insight. Ruskin had a complex relationship with the social and environmental changes of the time. Though benefiting from industrial wealth, Ruskin was critical of its impact on the natural world. Ruskin’s detailed botanical studies can be viewed as both a scientific study of the natural world, and a nostalgic yearning for a pre-industrial era. Ruskin once wrote, “There is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” Perhaps, the artist appreciated the leaf spray most when its colors shifted from green to orange and purple.