La Merveille Mont St Michel 1848

John Ruskin created “La Merveille Mont St Michel” using watercolor and ink. Ruskin, writing in the 19th century, was deeply interested in the medieval period. As an art critic and social thinker, he believed that the moral and social health of a society was reflected in its art and architecture. Here, Mont-Saint-Michel stands not merely as a building, but as a testament to the values of the past, a counterpoint to what Ruskin saw as the degradation of industrial society. Ruskin wasn't just interested in how a building looked, but what it represented about the culture that created it. His work, imbued with his own sensibilities, served as a critique of modernity through the lens of architectural history. Ruskin makes us consider what is lost and what is gained as societies evolve, and how these changes manifest in our physical surroundings.