Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty.
John RuskinRead
No person who is not a great sculptor or painter can be an architect. If he is not a sculptor or painter, he can only be a builder.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Only those with a deep understanding of artistry can truly excel in architecture, beyond mere construction.
In this quote, John Ruskin emphasizes the importance of artistic skill and creativity in the field of architecture. He argues that a successful architect must possess the artistic sensibilities of a sculptor or painter, as these skills allow them to create structures that are not only functional but also beautifully integrated into their surroundings. Without this artistic foundation, architecture may lack depth and meaning, reducing it to mere construction work.
Themes
ArchitectureArtCreativityDesignSculptor
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture about the importance of artistic skills in various fields, this quote can serve to highlight architecture's roots in art.
More from John Ruskin
All quotes βIn health of mind and body, men should see with their own eyes, hear and speak without trumpets, walk on their feet, not on wheels, and work and war with their arms, not with engine-beams, nor rifles warranted to kill twenty men at a shot before you can see them.
John RuskinRead
You talk of the scythe of Time, and the tooth of Time: I tell you, Time is scytheless and toothless; it is we who gnaw like the worm - we who smite like the scythe. It is ourselves who abolish - ourselves who consume: we are the mildew, and the flame.
John RuskinRead
To be able to ask a question clearly is two-thirds of the way to getting it answered.
John RuskinRead
See that your children be taught, not only the labors of the earth, but the loveliness of it.
John RuskinRead
A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.
John RuskinRead
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The mark of all good art is not that the thing done is done exactly or finely, for machinery may do as much, but that it is worked out with the head and the workman's heart.
Oscar WildeRead