Role of Venetian Renaissance Painting in John Ruskin’s Utopian Theories. A Sociopolitical History of Art

Explores the importance of Venetian Renaissance paintings in the writings and political theories of John Ruskin. While the city and the architecture of Renaissance Venice has been extensively examined by Ruskin scholars, to date there has been little discussion on the influence of Venetian art on Ruskin’s world view. This book examines important Venetian paintings and how their iconography and pictorial components relate to themes in Ruskin’s writings. From these paintings, the book argues that Ruskin found inspiration for the conceptualization of his ideal society in which society exists harmoniously under the laws of justice, obedience, and cooperation.