ARCHITECTURE
closed world which hesuspected would soonchangebeyondrecognition. Photographyofferedawayof making
a forensicallyaccuraterecord– adelight for the Ruskinian truth-seekers, whose fascinationwithfine detail borderedon obsession–andmuch of its early use was as a technical tool, notasart. In the mid 1850sRuskin and Crawley
IN ART
19.Fribourg,Switzerland, Rue de la Palme and the Pont deBerne, 1854-56, FrederickCrawley/JohnRuskin
Fribourg,1859,JohnRuskin
ARCHITECTURALconservation owes muchto photography,but sodo painting and
drawing.Theinfluenceof the 19th century’s great art-science discovery – making apermanentpictureby exposinga chemically-coated glassplate to light– on artistsof thedayhas only recentlybeen understood.One ofphotography’s earliest uses wasasa sketchbook– cutting-edge newtechnology from which an emotionally charged artwork could later be produced. Soitwas that inthe 1850s – onlya
fewyearsafter the processes of photographyhadbeen refinedintoa practical,usableform– John Ruskin, SPAB’s spiritual leading light, set forth to recordEuropeanarchitectural treasures using thenewmedium. Or, more accurately,Ruskinset forth his servant, Frederick Crawley, to do much of this hard work,albeitunderhis master’s direction. Thoughfamouslydevoted to Venice,
Ruskin wasalsoa passionate admirer of theAlps and oldbuildings there, especially in Switzerland.Hevisited often, sketching andpainting, recording a still remote and
Top, old buildings in Fribourg, as painted in 1859 by John Ruskin. Itwas based on the photograph, a Daguerreotype (above),which had been taken several years earlier by Ruskin and Frederick Crawley.
Image top copyright Trustees of the BritishMuseum. lmage above courtesy Jacobson Collection
CORNERSTONE advertiser index
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84 Cornerstone, Vol 32, No 2 2011
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arrivedat theancientSwiss town of Fribourg. This had been an untouched gem on the Sarine river, its treasures – monasteries, castle,mansions, fountains – un-molestedby the Restorers.However, in 1848parts of its oldwallweredemolished, and roads to the rest of Switzerland improved. In 1862, the railway would
arrive.Thus, Ruskin,Crawley andtheir cameramanaged to record what wouldbe Fribourg’s last daysas an insular survival. They focused ona jumble of old buildings in the middle of the town. It seems tohave beenCrawleywho took the photograph, under theclose direction ofRuskin. ForRuskin, the act of recording seems
tohave been notonlythetaking ofa photograph,but thecreationof anartwork basedonthat photographas
well.So, in 1859, severalyearsafter the imageof old Fribourgwas taken,he painted in watercolour,pencilandgouachehis version of thatphotograph. Thetwo images ofFribourg recently
appeared, side by side,atamajor exhibition. “ThePre-Raphaelite Lens: British Photography and Painting, 1848-1875” moved from theNational Gallery ofArt in Washington to the Musée d’Orsay inParis this January, whereit is just ending. It is to behoped thatan exhibition which sheds so much light onimagination and passion–a mix that infusedsomuchof theearlySPAB’s thought–willone day arrive in Britain in its inspiringand revealing Americanand French format. Robin Stummer
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78-81 PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 57 Recclesia Stainded Glass 17 The Rooflight Company 45 Rose of Jericho Ltd 68 Scottish Lime (Penicuik House Project) 6 Shaws of Darwen
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