The Two Paths

Ruskin ties his aesthetic theories to real-world issues in The Two Paths. The main tenet of Ruskin's theories of art was that while corrupt and despondent people, who work in unjust societies and rely on the tools of the industrial age, produce inferior art, contented people, who work in just societies and strive to capture the essence of nature, produce fine and noble art. Theoretical methods used by critics like Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, and Max Horkheimer are anticipated and complemented by Ruskin's articles.This Prospects in Visual Rhetoric Critical Edition, the only version of The Two Paths currently in print, offers a rethinking of the rhetorical tradition from a visual standpoint. The introductions and annotations were created to encourage critical debates on Ruskin's artistic ideas, his activism for social reform, his use of visual rhetoric, and the political and historical settings in which his works were produced.

About the Author :
John Ruskin was an English writer, philosopher, art critic, and polymath during the Victorian era. He lived from 8 February 1819 to 20 January 1900. He published on a wide range of topics, including political economy, myth, ornithology, literature, education, and geology. He emphasized the relationships between nature, art, and society in all of his writing. His father, John James Ruskin (1785-1864) was a wine and sherry importer. At Oxford University and King's College in London, Ruskin studied literature. By studying under Thomas Dale, he prepared for Oxford University (1797-1870). He fell in love with the Alps at a young age and made his first trip to Venice in 1835. Under the guidance of Charles Runciman, Copley Fielding, and J. D. Harding, he developed his creative abilities. On April 10, 1848, at her Bowerswell house in Perth, Euphemia "Effie" Gray and John Ruskin were united in marriage. The marriage was troubled, and Effie said that Ruskin was harsh to her. In 1854, six years later, it was revoked. Ruskin revisited certain topics that had been among his favorites when he was a little kid in the 1880s. At the age of 80, he passed away from influenza at Brantwood on January 20, 1900. According to his desires, he was buried five days later in the Coniston graveyard.