„But they could not rise out of the ruins of their violated truth”: Erschütterungen kulturellen Erbes in John Ruskins Schreiben

Abstract

This article explores what effects the political and social upheavals of the late-19th century as well as personal crises had on John Ruskin’s understanding of conservation as he formulated it in The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849). The article focuses in particular on Ruskin’s rejection of restoration, which was fueled by his fright over industrialization and the demolition of historical architecture that accompanied it, the crisis of faith he was experiencing at the time, and his difficult relationship with women, which has not yet been explored as an influence on his writing. The article concludes with a brief look at how Ruskin’s work is currently received. One view in recent years is that his thinking offers ways to approach the climate crisis and to critique capitalism, while another is that his conservative stance is unhelpful for dealing with present upheavals.