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12. John Ruskin’s Painting Materials: A Quest for Durable Colour between Industry and Nature

Tea Ghigo(author)

Chapter of: Colour Matters: Exploring Chromatic Materialities in the Long Nineteenth Century (1798-1914)

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Title	12. John Ruskin’s Painting Materials
Subtitle	A Quest for Durable Colour between Industry and Nature
Contributor	Tea Ghigo(author)
DOI	https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0501.12
Landing page	http://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0501/chapters/10.11647/obp.0501.12
License	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Copyright	Tea Ghigo
Publisher	Open Book Publishers
Published on	2026-05-11
Long abstract	This chapter explores the impact of industrial progress on the artistic practice of John Ruskin, one of the most prominent art critics, cultural commentators and social philosophers of the Victorian era. Throughout his lifetime, Ruskin observed numerous technological advancements and often voiced his scepticism about their consequences. His critiques of industry, progress and other aspects of modernity sometimes earned him a reputation as a nostalgic figure inclined to idealise the past. Drawing on archival and material evidence, this chapter explores Ruskin’s complex relationship with industrial colour manufacture. I
Print length	24 pages
Language	English (Original)
THEMA	AGA PDX NHTB DSBF JHMC
BISAC	ART015260 HIS054000 SCI034000 LIT004130 DES003000 SOC002010
Keywords	Colour studies Material culture History of science Art history (long nineteenth century) Pigments and dyes Empire and identity

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Contributors

Tea Ghigo

(author)

History of Art, Materials and Technology at University College London

Fellow at Society of Antiquaries of London

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7109-6730

Tea Ghigo is a Lecturer in the History of Art, Materials and Technology at University College London and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. She holds a joint PhD in Archaeometry from the University of Rome La Sapienza and the University of Hamburg, and previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. Her research sits at the intersection of Heritage Science and Technical Art History, focusing on the material culture of Europe and the Mediterranean from Antiquity through the nineteenth century. Grounded in an evidence-based approach inspired by antiquarian traditions, her work combines close material investigation of artefacts with the study of historical texts to interpret the past. Passionate about museum communication, she is committed to expanding the visibility of materials and making techniques in museum narratives—both through her research and in her teaching—ultimately contributing to more inclusive and materially informed histories of art.

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