The Stones of Venice (book)

The Stones of Venice
The Nature of Gothic in a Kelmscott Press edition. First page of text, with ornamented border.
Author(s)	John Ruskin
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Publication date	1851 - 1853
Preceded by	The Seven Lamps of Architecture

For the 2001 Dr Who spin-off, see The Stones of Venice (audio drama)

The Stones of Venice is a three-volume treatise on Venetian art and architecture by English art historian John Ruskin, first published from 1851 to 1853. Intending to prove how the architecture in Venice exemplified the principles he discussed in his earlier work, The Seven Lamps of Architecture, Ruskin examined the city in detail, describing for example over eighty churches. He discusses architecture of Venice's Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance periods, and provides a general history of the city as well.

The book aroused considerable interest in Victorian Britain and beyond. The chapter "The Nature of Gothic" (from volume 2) was admired by William Morris, who published it separately in an edition which is in itself an example of Gothic revival. It inspired Marcel Proust; the narrator of the Recherche visits Venice with his mother in a state of enthusiasm for Ruskin.

Various shortened editions have been published, including one edited by J.G. Links published in the USA in 1960.

See also

• John Henry Devereux

External links

• The Stones of Venice (Introductions) at Project Gutenberg
• Volume 1 at Archive.org
• Volume 2 at Archive.org
• Volume 3 at Archive.org