Ruskin on BaconIn
The Elements of Drawing (1857), Ruskin explained that he had 'never known anyone with false taste in books, and true taste in pictures' (
Works, 15, p. 26).
With this principle in mind, he recommended the study of Bacon as part of an artist's general literary education:
'Of reflective prose, read chiefly Bacon, Johnson, and Helps' (
Works, 15, 227).
In
Modern Painters III (1856), Ruskin related Bacon's study of the 'material nature' to Turner's concern with the same subject in art:
'Turner, the first great landscape-painter, must take a place in the history of nations corresponding in art accurately to that of Bacon in philosophy; -- Bacon having first opened the study of the laws of material nature, when, formerly, men had thought only of the laws of human mind; and Turner having first opened the study of the aspect of material nature, when, before, men had thought only of the aspect of the human form' (
Works, 5, p. 353).
Ruskin offers a less flattering characterization of Bacon in
Modern Painters V (1860):
'born in York House, Strand, of courtly parents, educated in court atmosphere, and replying, almost as soon as he could speak, to the queen asking how old he was -- "Two years younger than your Majesty's happy reign!" -- has the world's meanness and cunning engrafted into his intellect, and remains smooth, serene, unenthusiastic, and in some degree base, even with all his sincere devotion and universal wisdom, bearing to the end of life, the likeness of a marble palace, in the street of a great city, fairly furnished within, and bright in wall and battlement, yet noisome in places about the foundations' (
Works, 6, 439).
Museum LibraryThe Museum had an extensive library. Its non-manuscript collections divide into these subject areas:
B. WORKS OF TRAVELI.
Early Voyages of DiscoveryII.
Ancient AtlasesC. NATURAL HISTORYI.
MineralogyII.
BotanyIII.
ZoologyD. THE FINE ARTSI.
Arts of Ancient Greece and Rome(a) Sculpture
(b) Coins and Gems
II.