Mont Blanc and the Aiguilles of Chamouni in Switzerland
Printmaker: Ruskin, John
Woodblock with wash drawing for an unpublished wood engraving relating to the contours of Mont Blanc and the Aiguilles of Chamouni in Switzerland
Given by the Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum, 1911
Method of acquisition: Given (1911) by Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum
19th Century
1843
-
1856
Cf. Plate 29, Fig. 1 of CHAPTER XIII, 'OF THE SCULPTURE OF MOUNTAINS:—SECONDLY, THE CENTRAL PEAKS' in John Ruskin, Modern Painters, Vol IV (Smith, Elder and Co., London, 1856): 'In looking from Geneva in the morning light, when Mont Blanc and its companion hills are seen dark against the dawn, almost every traveller must have been struck by the notable range of jagged peaks which bound the horizon immediately to the north-east of Mont Blanc. In ordinary weather they appear a single chain, but if any clouds or mists happen to float into the heart of the group, it divides itself into two ranges, lower and higher, as in Fig. 1, Plate 29, of which the uppermost and more distant chain is the real crest of the Alps, and the lower and darker line is composed of subordinate peaks which form the south side of the valley of Chamouni, and are therefore ordinarily known as the "Aiguilles of Chamouni." '. A handwritten label on the verso of the block states: 'Drawn on the woodblock by Ruskin. "Modern Painters" Vol. 4, Plate 29, Fig. 1. Crest of the Alps known as Aiguilles of Chamouni / 6 guineas / f/ms/D'. In graphite '679'.
Accession number: P.15133-R
Primary reference Number: 317461
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
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