Why We Need Ruskin Now

In this lecture, art historian Tim Barringer proposes that the critical practice of Victorian-era art critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) suggests ways that we can renew art-historical thinking today. While flatly rejecting Ruskin's ideas about gender and race, Barringer reconsiders the critic's expansion of art historical discourse to embrace urgent questions of modernity. In words and images, Ruskin asked: What can we learn from the natural world and how should we care for it? How should historical monuments be understood and preserved? What is the role of art in education? And finally, how can we make a more just society?

Tim Barringer is Paul Mellon Professor and Chair of the Department of the History of Art at Yale University.

This is a Thomas and Barbara Gaehtgens Lecture, sponsored by the Getty Research Institute Council.

This event occurred on December 10, 2019.

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