John Ruskin  1854

by John Everett Millais

Oil on Canvas [br] This is a painting of the leading Victorian art critic John Ruskin (1819–1900). It was painted by the Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais during 1853–4. He was an early advocate of the Pre-Raphaelite group of artists and part of their success was due to his efforts. The painting depicts Ruskin in front of a waterfall in Glenfinlas, Scotland. R...
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Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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  1. The painting of Ruskin was started at Glenfinlas, during which the details of the landscape were painted. The last stages of work on the painting were undertaken in Millais' studio in London. By that time Ruskin's wife Effie had fallen in love with Millais. She left Ruskin and sued him for an annulment of the marriage. She and Millais were married the following year. Millais found it very difficult to be in the same room as Ruskin when he was completing the work in London, calling it "the most hateful task I have ever had to perform".[4] As soon as the portrait was finished he broke off contact with Ruskin. Ruskin himself temporarily moved the portrait so that his father would not see it, since he was concerned that he would damage or destroy it.