The Queen of the Air: Being a Study of the Greek Myths of Cloud and Storm.

RUSKIN, John.

Item Number: 111030

London: George Allen, 1892.

Finely bound edition of Ruskin’s classic work on Greek mythology. Octavo, bound in full vellum with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, inner dentelles and gilt decorated endpapers, all edges gilt, ribbon bound in. Laid in is an original carte-de-visite of Ruskin by L. Cadesi. In near fine condition. Ownership inscription.

The leading English art critic of the Victorian era, John Ruskin wrote on a variety of subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and political economy. Ruskin first came to widespread attention with the first volume of Modern Painters (1843), an extended essay in defense of the work of J. M. W. Turner in which he argued that the principal role of the artist is "truth to nature." From the 1850s, he championed the Pre-Raphaelites, who were influenced by his ideas and theories.