 Ruskin's "Modern Painters" was a five-volume treatise on art that was, according to American artist Worthington Whittredge, "in every landscape painter's hand" by mid-century.Ruskin emphasized the close observation of nature, and he viewed art, morality, and the natural world as spiritually unified.Following this theme, the painting displays the landscape in detail at all scales, from the intricate foliage, birds, and butterflies in the foreground to the all-encompassing portrayal of the natural environments studied by Church.