Mainly a treatise on architecture, John Ruskin’s
The Stones of Venice(1851-3) was meant to apply to the buildings of Venice the general principles enunciated in
The Seven Lamps of Architecture(1848). It moves, however, beyond the earlier work’s abstract treatment, not only because it dedicates substantial attention to the details of architectural construction, but also because it places architecture within its social, political, moral, and religious context. Volume I, “The Foundations”, discusses the edifices of Venice and their functional and ornamental aspects and presents a brief history of the city; in Volume II, “The Sea Stories”, Ruskin turned his thoughts to the Byzantine period and the climactic development of Venetian life, its Gothic period, which meant to him…
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Citation: Casaliggi, Carmen. "The Stones of Venice". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 February 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7833, accessed 02 December 2024.]