"More than simply a survey of an ancient city's most significant buildings, The Stones of Venice first published in three volumes between 1851 and 1853 is an expression of a philosophy of art, nature, and morality that goes beyond art history, and has inspired such thinkers as Leo Tolstoy, Marcel Proust, and Mahatma Gandhi. Volume II, examining the Byzantine era and the architectural developments of Venice s Gothic period, includes the oft-anthologized chapter The Nature of Gothic, one of the author s most important discussions of his key theme, the relation of the art of Venice to her moral temper. For Ruskin, the Gothic style embodied the same moral truths sought by great art. Informative, aesthetic, and spiritual, this architectural exploration will be appreciated by students and scholars alike. The preeminent art critic of his time, British writer JOHN RUSKIN (1819 1900) had a profound influence upon European painting, architecture, and aesthetics of the 19th and 20th centuries. His immense body of literary works include Modern Painters, Volume I IV (1843 1856); The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849); Unto This Last (1862); Munera Pulveris (1862 3); The Crown of Wild Olive (1866); Time and Tide (1867); and Fors Clavigera (1871-84)."