John Ruskin and the Savage Gothic

John Ruskin’s provocative theories concerning Gothic art and architecture bear serious consideration in light of the formative debates concerning “primitive” art and its relation to modern European society. Like many primitivists, Ruskin’s advocacy for the medieval was motivated by a reformist zeal concerning the state of modern industrial Europe. He differs markedly in his ideas concerning the value and uses of the "savage” Gothic for modern audiences. Ruskin rejected the random borrowing of stylistic elements, stressing instead the artisanal process and the communal role of Gothic monuments. It is also significant that Ruskin problematises the relationship between “primitive” and modern by repeatedly acknowledging his position as a modern viewer and emphasising the process through which he makes (artisan-like) his interpretive history of the Gothic. Rejecting the mastering gaze, Ruskin constantly reminds readers that their view of this pre-modern work is fragmentary and disjunctive.