John Ruskin, J.M.W. Turner and the Art of Water
This book assesses Ruskin’s and Turner’s mutual interest in the theme of water, with particular reference to The Harbours of England (1856), Ruskin’s book on ships and marine art to which are appended Turner’s 12 illustrations of the English ports. By considering existing scholarly works on Ruskin and Turner, the book begins by demonstrating that the two, despite their widely acknowledged relations, have rarely been examined in conjunction. It raises the question as to how the subject of water inspired the intellectual, aesthetic, philosophical, and scientific climate of the nineteenth century, both in Britain and abroad, and acknowledges the significance of the relationship between Ruskin and Turner in the context of aquatic studies. Ruskin’s childhood fascination with water is examined in detail, while the scientific and spiritual importance of the subject in Modern Painters and The Stones of Venice is also emphasised and read in parallel with The Harbours of England, a detailed account of which is given, referring to both text and illustrations. Turner’s role in Ruskin’s understanding of specific water-pictures is also reconstructed. The book demonstrates that water is important as a multifaceted compendium of contemporary themes, for tradition, progress, nationalism, and patriotism find their iconography in its depiction. Considering the literary and painterly implications of wateriness, the text concludes with a reflection upon the significance of the study of water for Ruskin and Turner, and for their age.
Carmen Casaliggi is Reader in English at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Her research interests include nineteenth-century literature and art, the relationship between British and European Romanticism, Romantic literary circles, and the environmental humanities. She has published widely on these topics and her books include Ruskin in Perspective: Contemporary Essays (co-edited with Paul March-Russell, 2007); Legacies of Romanticism: Literature, Culture, Aesthetics (co-edited with Paul March-Russell, 2012); Romanticism: A Literary and Cultural History (with Porscha Fermanis, 2016); and Using Interactive Digital Narrative in Science and Health Education (with Rebecca L. Skains, 2021).
"Carmen Casaliggi’s long-considered study of Ruskin’s fascination with these “spirited sea-pieces”, from Dover and Ramsgate to Plymouth and Whitby, represents a major addition to the literature on a great artist and a great writer."
Stephen Wildman, Emeritus Professor of History of Art and retired Director of the Ruskin Library and Research Centre, Lancaster University
"Ruskin’s Harbours of England has not received the sort of scholarly attention given to his better-known books, yet as an expression of some of his most deeply-held interests and principles it deserves and repays close attention. In her new book, the product of extensive research and long immersion in her subject, Carmen Casaliggi has given The Harbours of England the full-length study it deserves, considering what it can tell us about Ruskin’s relationship with Turner, his love of water and the the natural world, and the ways in which ideas about water figured in the broader aesthetic, scientific, and philosophical debates of the period. Casaliggi also demonstrates the ways in which Harbours influenced Modern Painters and The Stones of Venice, in which Ruskin took up and developed many of its themes and ideas. Casaliggi’s important book invites us to broaden our understanding of both Ruskin and Turner, and offers new insights into their significance, both to one another and to the period."
Sara Atwood, Instructor of English Literature, Portland State University and Pacific Northwest College of Art, USA
"In her beautifully illustrated, enthralling study, Carmen Casaliggi takes readers on an exciting search for the significance of water in the work of two nineteenth-century master painters and art theorists: J.M.W. Turner and John Ruskin. Framed by tensions between natural landscape and its technological and scientific representations, Casaliggi adopts a refreshing approach to an atmospheric, though at times highly controversial theme. Through this book, water emerges as much more than a symbol of God’s benevolence, as posited optimistically by Ruskin. Nor is wateriness an ingenious metonym of natural waterways only. The Janus-faced aquatic theme actually indexes maritime landscapes, shipping, commerce, thus becoming a sign with potent nationalistic, even colonial overcodings. As the site of invigorating encounters, Turner’s and Ruskin’s water is an epistemic battleground where past and present, influence and originality, nature and science converge and collide. Casaliggi’s book also includes beautiful illustrations exploring important milestones in the relationship between Turner, Ruskin and water, with particular reference to The Harbours of England (1856). A study that convincingly assesses and reshapes the multi-layered, intermedia discourse of water, John Ruskin, J.M.W. Turner and the Art of Water will be especially welcomed by scholars and students working in post-Romantic British culture, art writing, and the fine arts."
Francesca Saggini, Marie S. Curie Fellow, University of Edinburgh and Professor in English Literature, Università della Tuscia
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