No 164

St M[arks] Book p.31. St Mark’s west front. Shows last shaft of first porch, adjoining pier and right side of second porch. In St M. Book, and the related Sheets (1850), Ruskin studied the five porches of the western facade from the south numbering them 1 to 5 as he worked his way to the north. Unrau states that ‘the ground plans and tables of measurements [Ruskin] prepared for publication take the reversed order (numbering the porches 1 to 5 from north to south).’ Unrau (1984) p.75. A small sketch plan of St Mark’s reproduced by Unrau (p.147) shows the porches numbered from left to right 1 2 3 4 5 (Album 1641 p.6 RF). Four (out of a probable eleven) carefully drawn and coloured lower ground plans still exist. These appear to have been made (though not used) in preparation for plates and are glued into albums 1639 and 1642 RF. They show that Ruskin numbered the columns from left to right (north to south).

St Mark’s, First (5th) porch, west front (first to the left from the Southern portico.

[Version 0.05: May 2008]