TREASURES FROM THE RUSKIN COLLECTION

JANUARY 30
"The Templar's Chapel and Garden, Laon, France" (1886) by Thomas Matthews
Rooke (1842 - 1942).
In 1886, Ruskin commissioned Rooke to work in France. He wrote, "I am going to
avail myself of your divine sympathy with the French character and your exquisite
architectural drawing. I want you to go first to Laon and see how you like it…"
Descriptions of Laon rarely appear in Ruskin's books, but he wrote of the town and its
hilltop location with affection in his letters and in notes in his diary. Rooke painted a
number of views of Laon, including the cathedral, picturesque streets and scenes of
the townspeople at market or in religious festivals. The Templar's Chapel shown here
was built in the mid 1100s and has an unusual form which appears octagonal on the
outside but circular on the interior. By the 1800s the building was collapsing and was
held together by iron bands which can be seen in Rooke's study.
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