The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Budding Sycamore

Budding Sycamore

c. 1876
(British, 1819–1900)
England, 19th century
black and gray wash, gouache, and graphite
Sheet: 34.8 x 44.8 cm (13 11/16 x 17 5/8 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1989.14
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This drawing was used as an illustration in John Ruskin's manual on drawing, Rudimentary Studies.

Description

The most influential art critic in Britain during the 19th century, John Ruskin was also an amateur artist for whom drawing was the cornerstone of artistic practice. Since his early youth, a keen perception of the world and obsessive desire to capture nature in all of its details found expression in his drawings. In this study of a leafing sycamore in early spring, Ruskin combined exquisite detail with atmospheric rendering of space, leaving the edges of the drawing unresolved. This sheet exemplifies his belief that drawn fragments, if sensitively observed, were capable of suggesting the profound mysteries of the natural world.
  • ?-?
    G.R. Roxburgh
    ?-1989
    (Artemis Fine Arts, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    1989-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cook, Edward Tyas and Alexander Wedderburn. The Works of John Ruskin. London: George Allen, 1906. Mentioned and reproduced: vol. 21, pp. 291-92, vol. 38, p. 285, no. 1629
    Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review: Selections 1989." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 2 (1990): 38-78. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 59, no. 181 25160106
    Artemis 88-89: Consolidated Audited Annual Report. Annual General Meeting (January 26, 1990). Mentioned: p. 32, no. 13
    Lemonedes, Heather, "Visible Spirit", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 44 no. 07, September 2004 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 6-7 archive.org
    Lemonedes, Heather. British Drawings: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013. Mentioned: pp. 126-27, 148, no. 42; Reproduced: p. 147
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 163
  • British Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art . The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-May 26, 2013).
    Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 15-November 14, 2004).
    The Year in Review for 1989. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 6-April 15, 1990).
  • {{cite web|title=Budding Sycamore|url=false|author=John Ruskin|year=c. 1876|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.14