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77 Great Quotes By John Ruskin, The Distinguished Art Critic

Famous As: Art Critic and Painter
Born On: February 8, 1819
Died On: January 20, 1900
Born In: England
Died At Age: 80
John Ruskin was an English art critic, painter, watercolorist, draughtsman, prominent social thinker and a noted philanthropist, who lived in the Victorian era. He studied at Christ College at the University of Oxford and then went on to study at King’s College London. His works were not limited to one or two areas but across a varied set of subjects. He wrote essays and articles on topics as diverse as architecture, education, ornithology and political economy, which made him one of the most versatile thinkers of his time. However, it was as an art critic that he found maximum recognition. Ruskin became a widely known art writer in 1843 after the publication of the 1st volume of ‘Modern Painters’ that dealt with the J. M. W. Turner and his works. He went on to write four more volumes of ‘Modern Painters’ and all those volumes became highly popular. His other well-known works include ‘Fors Clavigera’, ‘The Seven Lamps of Architecture’, ‘Unto His Last’ and three volumes of ‘The Stones of Venice’ among many others. Ruskin was one of the most influential art experts of his time and shared his thoughts on several subjects through his writings. Here is a collection of thoughts, quotation and sayings by John Ruskin on education, books, literature and art. These John Ruskin quotes have been gathered from his work, writings, speeches, and books.
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To banish imperfection is to destroy expression, to check exertion, to paralyze vitality.

To banish imperfection is to destroy expression, to check exertion, to paralyze vitality.

John Ruskin
It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride.

It is better to lose your pride with someone you love rather than to lose that someone you love with your useless pride.

John Ruskin
Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

John Ruskin
All books are divisible into two classes: the books of the hours, and the books of all Time.

All books are divisible into two classes: the books of the hours, and the books of all Time.

John Ruskin
The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love color the most.

The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love color the most.

John Ruskin
A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small parcel.

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small parcel.

John Ruskin
The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.

The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but what he becomes by it.

John Ruskin
Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them.

Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them.

John Ruskin
A book worth reading is worth owning.

A book worth reading is worth owning.

John Ruskin
When love and skill work together, expect a materpiece.

When love and skill work together, expect a materpiece.

John Ruskin
All art is but dirtying the paper delicately.

All art is but dirtying the paper delicately.

John Ruskin
Every increased possession loads us with new weariness.

Every increased possession loads us with new weariness.

John Ruskin
Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become.

Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become.

John Ruskin
He who has truth at his heart need never fear the want of persuasion on his tongue.

He who has truth at his heart need never fear the want of persuasion on his tongue.

John Ruskin
If a book is worth reading, it is worth buying.

If a book is worth reading, it is worth buying.

John Ruskin
There is no wealth but life.

There is no wealth but life.

John Ruskin
In order that people may be happy in their work, 
these three things are needed: 
they must be fit for it; 
they must not do too much of it; 
and they must have a sense of success in it.

In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: they must be fit for it; they must not do too much of it; and they must have a sense of success in it.

John Ruskin
Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words or he will certainly misunderstand them.

Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words or he will certainly misunderstand them.

John Ruskin
Education does not mean teaching people what they do not know. It means teaching them to behave as they do not behave.

Education does not mean teaching people what they do not know. It means teaching them to behave as they do not behave.

John Ruskin
Let every dawn of morning be to you as the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close.

Let every dawn of morning be to you as the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close.

John Ruskin
Remember that the most beautiful things in life are often the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance.

Remember that the most beautiful things in life are often the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance.

John Ruskin
Cookery means…English thoroughness, French art, and Arabian hospitality; it means the knowledge of all fruits and herbs and balms and spices; it means carefulness, inventiveness, and watchfulness.

Cookery means…English thoroughness, French art, and Arabian hospitality; it means the knowledge of all fruits and herbs and balms and spices; it means carefulness, inventiveness, and watchfulness.

John Ruskin
Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort. There must be the will to produce a superior thing.

Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort. There must be the will to produce a superior thing.

John Ruskin
Modern traveling is not traveling at all; it is merely being sent to a place, and very little different from becoming a parcel.

Modern traveling is not traveling at all; it is merely being sent to a place, and very little different from becoming a parcel.

John Ruskin
What we think or what we know or what we believe is in the end of little consequence. The only thing of consequence is what we do

What we think or what we know or what we believe is in the end of little consequence. The only thing of consequence is what we do

John Ruskin
You should read books like you take medicine, by advice, and not by advertisement.

You should read books like you take medicine, by advice, and not by advertisement.

John Ruskin
Education...is a painful, continual and difficult work to be done in kindness, by watching, by warning,... by praise, but above all -- by example.

Education...is a painful, continual and difficult work to be done in kindness, by watching, by warning,... by praise, but above all -- by example.

John Ruskin
You can only possess beauty through understanding it.

You can only possess beauty through understanding it.

John Ruskin
Art is not a study of positive reality, it is the seeking for ideal truth.

Art is not a study of positive reality, it is the seeking for ideal truth.

John Ruskin
There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey.

There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey.

John Ruskin