The Nature of Gothic Book

One of the very few necessary and inevitable utterances of the century.' William Morris, in the PrefaceIn its indictment of meaningless modern labour and its celebration of medieval architecture, The Nature of Gothic could be called the foundation stone of Morris's aesthetic and purpose in life. Forty years after he first read it, Morris chose Ruskin's text for one of the first books to be published at his Kelmscott Press, using his own Golden type. It is one of the summits of his career.Few books can so completely sum up an era. The Kelmscott Nature of Gothic encapsulates the meeting of two remarkable minds and embodies their influence in word, image and design. But more than that, Ruskin's words are increasingly relevant for our times. In this facsimile edition, the first ever made of this rare book, the reader can fully appreciate their importance and their legacy, as understood by one of the most potent visual imaginations to have worked in Britain.Two essays by leading scholars, Robert Hewison (who was one of Ruskin's successors as Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University) and Tony Pinkney (Senior Lecturer at Oxford University) explain the importance of this book for Ruskin, for Morris, and for us today.Read More