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The Seven Lamps of Architecture (Dover Architecture) Paperback – December 1, 1989

by John Ruskin (Author)

4.1 65 ratings

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"I believe architecture must be the beginning of arts, and that the others must follow her in their time and order; and I think the prosperity of our schools of painting and sculpture, in which no one will deny the life, though many the health, depends upon that of our architecture." — John Ruskin.
In August of 1848, John Ruskin and his new bride visited northern France, for the gifted young critic wished to write a work that would examine the essence of Gothic architecture. By the following April, the book was finished. Titled The Seven Lamps of Architecture, it was far more than a treatise on the Gothic style; instead, it elaborated Ruskin's deepest convictions of the nature and role of architecture and its aesthetics. The book was published to immediate acclaim and has since become an acknowledged classic.
The "seven lamps" are Sacrifice, Truth, Power, Beauty, Life, Memory, and Obedience. In delineating the relationship of these terms to architecture, Ruskin distinguishes between architecture and mere building. Architecture is an exalting discipline that must dignify and ennoble public life. It must preserve the purity of the materials it uses; and it must serve as a source of power and renewal for the society that produces it. The author expounds these and many other ideas with exceptional passion and knowledge, expressed in a masterly prose style.
Today, Ruskin's timeless observations are as relevant as they were in Victorian times, making The Seven Lamps of Architecture required reading for architects, students, and other lovers of architecture, who will find in these pages a thoughtful and inspiring approach to one of man's noblest endeavors.
This authoritative edition includes excellent reproductions of the 14 original plates of Ruskin's superb drawings of architectural details from such structures as the Doge's Palace in Venice, Giotto's Campanile in Florence, and the Cathedral of Rouen.

Print length

266 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Dover Publications
Publication date

December 1, 1989
Dimensions

6.5 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

048626145X
ISBN-13

978-0486261454
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dover Publications; Revised ed. edition (December 1, 1989)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 266 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 048626145X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0486261454
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 0.75 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,072,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #305 in Landmarks & Monuments
- #872 in Architecture Reference (Books)
- #1,323 in Architectural History

Customer Reviews:
4.1 65 ratings

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Lois

Beautiful thoughts for life

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2020

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John Ruskin is as relevant today as he was in the 1800s. One of my favorite books on living the beautiful and practical life no matter what your circumstances are.

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Amazon Customer

Be forewarned: Unashamed moralizing and aesthetic certainty

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2003

If you are looking for a "practical guide to the
structures and tools" of architecture, this is NOT
your book nor your guide.
For John Ruskin is an art critic, classicist, and
moralizing aesthetic prophet. He is not an "art for art's
sake" temporizer or relativist. He not only knows what
HE believes...but he believes he knows what YOU should
believe too. If that makes you uncomfortable or makes
you feel hampered, you might want to pass him by until
you feel you can accommodate the "insult" and "restrictions"
on your "free will choices." Otherwise, there is much of
beauty, wonder, and insight to be gained in these pages.
Ruskin's point of view is that of a classical Platonist
mixed with the moralizing tenor of an exhorting (but not
shrilly so) prophet toward beauty, Truth, and clarity of
vision...and moral purpose in Art. He also has a wondrous
prose style which is both clear, compelling, and entrancing.
This edition published by Dover as a reprint is of the
second edition of the work from 1880. It also includes
14 plates of drawings which Ruskin did to illustrate the
points which he makes in the text.
Along the way, Ruskin includes shortened Aphorisms
in the margin which restate the bold face print points
which he is making in the text. In Chapter 2, titled
"The Lamp of Truth," Ruskin stands forth most forcefully
and dynamically (and perhaps to the "modern," most
tendentiously) as the classical Platonic moralizer
and aesthetic apostle/prophet/priest. Though raised
a strict Protestant, Ruskin rebelled and left Christianity
for a classical Paganism based on beauty, Truth, and clarity.
Needless to say, this more than tended to alienate him
and isolate him from the mercenary, industrialized
Victorian world which was chugging along outside his
hermetically sealed temple dedicated to Truth, Beauty,
Goodness, and Clarity. Mercantilism and "practical
progress" don't exactly exalt those four princples as
the means or the goals whereby to make money and become
successful in the eyes of the world or popular opinion.
But if you want to read about Truth and Beauty and
read it through the eyes and soul of a lover of those
qualities -- and read it expressed in most beautiful
prose and style (which is both poetic and powerful),
then Ruskin and this work are clearly the choices you
should make.
This excerpt from Ruskin tied to Aphorism 29 {"The
earth is an entail, not a possession.") clearly shows
that Ruskin's vision and prophetic power extend beyond
the merely practical realm of architecture into an
all-encompassing total vision of responsibility and
reverence: "The idea of self-denial for the sake of
posterity, of practising present economy for the sake of
debtors yet unborn, of planting forests that our
descendants may live under their shade, or of raising
cities for future nations to inhabit, never, I suppose,
efficiently takes place among publicly recognized motives
of exertion. Yet these are not the less our duties; nor
is our part fitly sustained upon the earth, unless the
range of our intended and deliberate usefulness include,
not only the companions, but the successors, of our
pilgrimage. God has lent us the earth for our life; it
is a great entail. It belongs as much to those who are
to come after us, and whose names are already written in
the book of creation, as to us, and we have no right, by
any thing that we do or neglect, to involve them in
unnecessary penalties., or deprive them of benefits which
it was in our power to bequeath."
Read...enjoy...benefit...

37 people found this helpful

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reading man

Ruskinites Only

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2014

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If you're interested in knowing why Ruskin was considered the foremost authority on art and architecture in his day, you can probably get a sense of that by reading an anthology of selections from his voluminous writings.

If you want to go deeper, read this book and the first two volumes of MODERN PAINTERS. If you go further, you've become a Ruskin fanatic, not a bad thing to be!

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

HollyBeagle

Printed Book Lacks Diagrams, Page Numbers, and Formatting for TOC and Chapter beginnings.

Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2021

Verified Purchase

It appears many of the published versions of this book may all share the same review pool.
My review is for: ISBN-13: 978-1511891639 (With a color painting of a gothic cathedral, and a procession of clergy & noblemen in red capes processing out on a red carpet).

I will not comment on Ruskin's work itself, but rather the printed product quality.

Like many of the open-sourced printings, this edition lacks the photographic plates and/or diagrams. I'd recommend springing for a version that does, though it can be difficult to find out which version(s) include the relevant sketches/diagrams/photographs.

Though the margins and font are readable, and the print ink had plenty of contrast, I was disappointed to find that there is little to no proper formatting on the Table of Contents, no page-breaks before a new chapter begins, and most annoyingly, NO PAGE NUMBERS.

The binding and paper quality were good.

Helpful

james reddrick

Lamps of Architecture

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2014

If you can weave through the archaic language of the 18th century, this is a great book that gives insight into what illustrates great architecture. These sound principles will enable you to review architectural work and determine if it has sacrifice, truth, power, beauty, life, memory, and obedience. Many of the great forms of architecture have demonstrated some of these “lamps” of architecture.

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2001

I first got this book to help study the principles of architecture and found that I could use the concepts in my everyday life. I am currently a student of architecture at WSU and found that the observations Ruskin was making about architecture 150 years ago still applied today. The seven "lamps" mentioned in his book not only apply to architecture, but can also be utilized in almost any field of study or occupational setting. The writing is wonderfully done and ideas are clearly presented to the reader. This is the type of book you get done reading and have a genuine desire to be better at everything you do.

31 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ian

This book is not immediately to hand, but as ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2014

Verified Purchase

This book is not immediately to hand, but as I remember this was the volume from which many of Ruskin's diagrams had been omitted, rendering much incomprehensible.

Helpful

Kevin Witt

Architecture's Most Influential Written Work

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2001

This book is the origin of virtually every theory held throughout the history of architecture. The arts and crafts movement, Frank Lloyd Wright's organicism, and Corbusier's New Architecture are just a few examples of prominent theories whose foundations lie within the pages of this book. In this book, Ruskin prescribes the essential elements required to make timeless, meaningful architecture. This manifesto is a must for any student interested in the practice and study of architecture.

21 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

anon

as expected

Reviewed in Canada on March 12, 2020

Verified Purchase

as expected, thank you

Giacomo Valzania

If you can, avoid it!

Reviewed in Italy on October 11, 2015

Verified Purchase

Around month ago I decided to buy this edition of "The Seven Lamps of Architecture", a fundamental essay by John Ruskin on the history of european architecture. The content of this book is simply marvellous and inspiring.
Unfortunately, the edition here presented, though the low (but not so low) cost, makes the reading extremely difficult, this due to the ridiculous size of the characters and to the compression of all the chapters only to reduce the printing costs.
The paper adopted is of a absolutely bad quality, and even not obtained by a recycling process.
The handmade illustration of the author are reduced to a point that are completely not understandable, moreover one of the plates to which the text refers is not included!
It's simply ridiculous that this kind of version was approved by the authorities. I strongly recommend you to avoid it and to choose an alternative.

Giacomo Valzania

One person found this helpful