Journal of Art Historiography (Jun 2020)
Visions of nature: reviving Ruskin’s legacy at the Oxford University Museum’
Abstract
Since 2016, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History has built on the legacy of its founders, including John Ruskin, by integrating the arts into its scientific programming. In this article, we revisit the lectures that Ruskin gave at the museum in the 1870s during his tenure as Slade Professor of Fine Art, tracing his arguments in favour of art as a complement to the science of natural history. In spite of Ruskin’s attacks on contemporary science in these lectures, his concern with human impact on the environment resonates deeply today. We show how the museum’s new practice corroborates his arguments by enabling it to communicate science to new audiences and to reflect on the implications of scientific discoveries. Finally, we argue that natural history museums have both the capacity and a responsibility to advance public action in response to the current environmental crisis, and that a transdisciplinary approach integrating art and science is the most effective way for them to do so.
