The Casa D'Oro. Courtesy Brantwood

19th century artist and author John Ruskin is credited with alerting the world to the beauty of Venice, and the preservation of this crumbling jewel of a city is in no small part due to his efforts.

Until November 19 2006, visitors to Ruskin’s former Lake District home, Brantwood, will be able to view ‘Ruskin’s Venice’ – an exhibition of paintings and drawings of the city’s architecture.

Sailing boats on the Grand Canal. Courtesy Brantwood

Ruskin fell in love with the Italian city of canals when he was 16, and went on to study its fabric in great detail. Over a period of 15 years he measured and drew its buildings, producing his three-volume masterpiece ‘The Stones of Venice’. The publication not only brought Venice to everybody’s attention, but inspired its restoration.

The central chapter of Stones of Venice compares its gothic stylings to the ugliness of industrial Britain, inspiring in part the Arts and Crafts movement and gaining the praise of its key proponent William Morris.

Venice also brought heartbreak for Ruskin. It was in here that strains in his marriage first appeared, as did his mystical visions of Rose la Touche. His beautiful portrait of the young girl with whom he became infatuated is included in the exhibition.

View on the Grand Canal. Courtesy Brantwood

The works on show are drawn from the Whitehouse Collection at Ruskin Library, Lancaster University and also feature examples of sketches made on the spot, studies commissioned by fellow artists and exquisite watercolours of palaces and scenes on the Grand Canal.

Brantwood, on the shores of Coniston Water, has its own spectacular views. Ruskin enjoyed them from 1872 until his death in 1900.