painstakings

Updated: July 9, 2025

Ruskin has little perception of the humorous, about the strained care, the exaggeration of painstakings, bestowed on some of the drawings. Ruskin, always posing himself as addressing a suspicious and jealous audience, who would rise against him and turn him off the judgment seat, by fair means or foul, if they dared, or could.

Dutton Cook - Art in England: Notes and Studies