Opposite Lausanne

Artist John Ruskin (British, 1819-1900)

Date19th century

MediumWatercolor, graphite, ink, and gouache on paper

DimensionsSheet: 6 3/8 × 19 3/8 in. (16.2 × 49.2 cm)
Matt (Window): 5 5/8 × 18 1/2 in. (14.3 × 47 cm)
Frame: 12 × 24 in. (30.5 × 61 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Edward L. Carroll, 1960

Object numberSN722

Ruskin was one of the most important figures in Victorian Britain—an art critic, artist, teacher, and prolific writer on subjects ranging from architecture to geology to social reform. He loved Switzerland, especially Lausanne, and traveled there on several occasions. Passionate about nature, he made watercolors on his travels to document what he saw, rather than to create scenes of marketable visual appeal. Though he often depicted rock formations in great detail, here he takes a simplified approach, focusing on the rhythmic line of the mountaintops silhouetted against the sky.

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