A simple reminder of the sky at that particular point in time

 

John Ruskin Study of Dawn: the first Scarlet on the Clouds
watercolour and bodycolour over faint graphite lines on blue-grey paper
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From Ashmolean Museum::

Curator’s description:

Above a level band of blue-grey horizon, the pale blue sky is streaked with wispy, thin, dark clouds, which reflect the bright orange rays of the rising sun in the lower centre-left. This is the first of a group of three watercolours, of similar size on blue-grey paper, depicting early morning skies at Denmark Hill in March 1868. (The others are nos 4 and 5 in the Educational Series.)

The work was first catalogued in 1871, in the first Educational Series catalogue, as no. 3 A; it remained in the same position in the second Educational Series catalogue, and in Ruskin's 1878 reorganisation of the series.

Ruskin chose this work for its 'extreme simplicity in method of work' (first Educational catalogue, p. 27), including it as a factual record of a beautiful scene, and as a symbol of the way the light of inspiration can transform the ordinary into perfection. It was also intended as an example of a practical exercise in visual memory: speed was of the essence in achieving the desired effect, starting with a delineation of the clouds in pencil, colour then being added while the memory was fresh. It was vital to stop working the moment the mental image faded. The idea was to produce a simple reminder of the sky at that particular point in time. He advised his readers to 'Rise early, always watch the sunrise and the way the clouds break from the dawn' (The Two Paths, § 137 = XVI.371).