A View in the Alps 1835

John Ruskin's watercolour, "A View in the Alps," captures the grandeur of the alpine landscape, evoking the sublime and the picturesque. It's an image that encapsulates the cultural values of Victorian England, with a focus on the aesthetic and the natural world. Ruskin was not just an artist, but an influential social commentator. The Alps represented a space of both natural beauty and burgeoning tourism, reflecting the complex relationship between industrial society and untouched landscapes. Ruskin's paintings and writings often explored the ethical dimensions of this relationship. He would have reflected on the moral implications of industrialization on the English landscape, using the Alps as a comparative landscape, an alternative vision. Ruskin's work challenges us to consider the social conditions shaping our perceptions of nature and the institutional forces which frame our understanding of it. The study of letters and diaries helps us understand the values that influenced art and society.