Thomas Cole, Old Masters Fine Art Print, Desolation
Description
Thomas Cole, Old Masters Fine Art Print, Desolation
Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 – February 11, 1848) was an English-born American artist known for his landscape and history paintings. He is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that flourished in the mid-19th century.
The Course of Empire is a five-part series of paintings created by Thomas Cole in the years 1833–36. It is notable in part for reflecting popular American sentiments of the times, when many saw pastoralism as the ideal phase of human civilization, fearing that empire would lead to gluttony and inevitable decay.
The fifth painting, Desolation, shows the results, years later. We view the remains of the city in the livid light of a dying day. The landscape has begun to return to wilderness, and no human beings are to be seen; but the remnants of their architecture emerge from beneath a mantle of trees, ivy, and other overgrowth. The broken stumps of the pharoses loom in the background. The arches of the shattered bridge, and the columns of the temple are still visible; a single column looms in the foreground, now a nesting place for birds. The sunrise of the first painting is mirrored here by a moonrise, a pale light reflecting in the ruin-choked river while the standing pillar reflects the last rays of sunset. This gloomy picture symbolizes what all empires could be after their fall. It is a harsh possible future in which humanity has been destroyed by its own hands.
8x12 inches
12x18 inches
16x24 inches
20x30 inches
24x36 inches
And as a stretched canvas panel (heavy fine art canvas stretched over 1.5 inch deep edge solid wood frame)
Canvas panel sizes:
8x12 inches
16x24 inches
20x30 inches
All prints are made using archival art stocks and UV pigment inks to give up to 200 years life. Prints are sold unframed and unmounted.
Thomas Cole, Old Masters Fine Art Print, Desolation
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