Town of Schaffhausen: Castle and Turrets; verso: rough sketch of castle  c. 1863 - 1869

Curator: Here we have John Ruskin's "Town of Schaffhausen: Castle and Turrets." It is currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: My first thought? It’s a daydream. Fleeting, almost like catching a glimpse of something magical from the corner of my eye. Curator: Ruskin was deeply invested in accurately portraying the built environment, especially medieval structures, as a means of understanding social history. Editor: That brown paper really grounds the castle though, doesn't it? Stops it from floating away entirely. Makes you wonder what Ruskin saw in Schaffhausen. Curator: He believed architecture embodied a society’s moral and spiritual values, and in his work, he defended the value of art in society and in the face of industrialization. Editor: It’s interesting how he suggests form with such minimal detail. The castle becomes less about bricks and mortar and more about...feeling. Curator: Absolutely. Ruskin’s work reminds us that the built world is not just physical, but also a repository of cultural memory and values. Editor: A glimpse into what Ruskin valued, a feeling suspended in time. I could stare at this for hours and just imagine.