A watercolour by William Turner

[bunn]

I saw this watercolour float past and was fascinated by the weird behaviour of the people in the foreground, so I looked them up, but was unable to find anything about them but something that described them as ‘boys playing’.  The one on the left in the orange jacket looks so  20th century! 

I did however, in the course of my researches, find this awesome article about what Ruskin really said about Kirby Lonsdale. He seems to have had Very Stern Views.

Comments

[r-blackcat.livejournal.com]

Aren't they throwing stones at the construction on the... tomb?

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I don't know! Maybe...? My eye insists the one in the hat is holding up a mobile phone to record the work of the chap in orange, but I'm fairly sure that in 1818 this is unlikely to have been the case :-D

Unless Boy In Hat is a time-traveller, I suppose.

[r-blackcat.livejournal.com]

Lol! Though I think the thing is a little bit too big for a phone; rather it may be a beer-can or smth that will go on the tomb the next round of stone-throwing.

[alitheapipkin.livejournal.com]

That Ruskin article is priceless, I suspect Ruskin was actually a right grumpy sod! It amuses me no end that the Ruskin Library at Lancaster University (which they built while I was an undergrad there in the late 90s) looks rather like a giant toilet ;)

[pigshitpoet.livejournal.com]

I suspect Ruskin was actually a right grumpy sod!

yes, ruskin was depicted as very eccentric in the movie 'turner'.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

Great article! Thanks for the link.

art

[pigshitpoet.livejournal.com]

not the best known turner piece but very intriguing! yes, what are those people doing?

great article on ruskin. of this i was unaware..

thanks for sharing

this also drew my attention, since i had never heard of this:

Ruskin knew of the view from the engraving of this watercolour that was published in Turner’s ‘History of Richmondshire’ in 1822, but the view was already feted by others, including William Wordsworth in his Guide to the Lakes published in 1810. It is not clear when it was decided to call it ‘Ruskin’s View’, but it was still known as Turner’s view well into the twentieth century.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Don't hold back, Ruskin! Say what you really think!

I love this. Thank you!

[ningloreth.livejournal.com]

I think they're throwing stones at the pile of stuff. Not sure what the pile of stuff is -- it looks very breakable!

[ylla.livejournal.com]

It looks like a homemade version of the things where you throw balls to knock the cans off the shelf at the shows.

The weirdest thing for me about that painting is that it looks nothing at all like the Lune, but does look quite a lot like Derwent Water or Borrowdale. Why paint a picture of one place looking like another place?