Ariadne Florentina collects the six lectures on wood and metal engraving that John Ruskin delivered at Oxford as Slade Professor. Ranging over the history and technique of the engraved line, he discusses the work of masters such as Dürer and Botticelli and argues, as ever, for the moral and spiritual conditions he believed great craftsmanship demands.
Characteristically wide-ranging, the lectures move from practical observation to sweeping reflection on art and society. They form an important part of Ruskin’s Oxford teaching on the graphic arts. This free EPUB download is cleanly formatted for any e-reader.