The Course of Civilization: The Savage State 1834
The Course of Civilization: The Pastoral State 1834
The Course of Civilization: The Consummation of Empire 1836
The Course of Civilization: Destruction of Empire 1836
The Course of Civilization: Desolation 1836
The Course of Empire by Haddon Buschmann
The Course of Empire is a series of five paintings done by Thomas Cole that illustrates the beginnings and ends of a civilization. It depicts a wilderness that turns into a prosperous civilization, but then it crumbles into ruins as all man made things must come to an end. These paintings are a metaphor for what could happen to the United States because it is the first republic since the Roman Empire. Many people during the time thought that the United States would never fail, and Cole’s paintings provided a warning about what could happen.
The first painting in the series, The Savage State, depicts nature that is untamed by society. The sun rises in the left, and this represents the start of a new civilization as it pushes away the dark clouds. The small village on the left is the first sign of a civilization. The Arcadian or Pastoral State shows the beginning of civilization with the ships going into the ports, the buildings, and the people. It appears as though the people have controlled nature as they live in harmony with it. The clouds have cleared in this painting, and there is a light shining on the creations. However, the two cut down trees on either side of the picture represent the harm that must be done in order to build the civilization. The third painting, Consummation, shows a prosperous civilization similar to Ancient Rome as it reaches its apex. The people are now more powerful than nature, and they use it to their advantage. There are plants in pots for decoration, animals are tamed to help transportation, and stone is used to make buildings look incredible. There are no clouds in the sky, and the sun is very bright to demonstrate the affluence of civilization. Destruction shows the civilization on the brink of collapse as the buildings fall apart, there is fire everywhere, and there is utter chaos. The dark clouds and rippling waves have returned for dramatic effect and pathetic fallacy. Bridges represent a strong civilization structure, but since these are crumbling so is the civilization. The final painting, Desolation, shows the remnants of a great empire. It is uninhabited and tranquil, and nature is taking back the landscape as it envelops the old buildings. At the end of the empire, there is desolation.
These paintings reflect on what is possible to happen to America with its new government. Even though America had come a long way with technology and industrialization, Cole warned to not become too proud while building a civilization. Even though Rome was destroyed, that does not mean the United States can do nothing to prevent this. In the last painting, the moon hangs in the sky, but night always turns into day representing a new hope. America is the hope of the new day when civilization could rise again.
The Course of the Empire: The Savage State by Bell McKee
Starting from left to right, Thomas Cole captures a shift coming in his piece “The Course of the Empire: The Savage State”. Utilizing an oil paint palette of neutral colors to blend and inspire feelings of the future, the series captures the same mountain as it watched the rise and fall of a new empire.
In the painting, the center mountain has light shining on it from the western side of the image, implying a rising sun or a new era. The seas are calm on the left as well, the same origin point of the light. There are Native American people who seem to be running back to camp after a hunt in the foreground on the left and slightly to the right of them in a more background layer. They have their hands up in a seeming triumphant motion. However, as the viewer’s eyes begin to move towards the right side of the painting, a portrait of seeming despair and savagery can be seen.
The same Native hunters mentioned earlier can also be interpreted as running away from the light as well, perhaps having their hands in the air out of fear for the future. Cole uses darker colors and looming clouds to give a sense of doom to the right side of the painting. The seas on the shores of the left coast are crashing and chaotic. Wildfires adorn the coast as well and entangle themselves with the plumes of smoke rising to the sky. Cole shines a spotlight on the Native tribe village to the far right as well, drawing the audience’s attention to the village. When zoomed in, it is visible that the Natives are dancing around the fire in a cultural ceremony of some sorts. Smoke from the fire connects and transitions into the big grey clouds already clogging the sky, suggesting that the Natives are perhaps the cause of this looming smoke. That the Natives are the cause of the corruption and sin in the painting’s world.
In the scenery, there are other miscellaneous items that will be circled back to over the course of the paintings. One of these is the canoes seen on the left side of the painting towards to the lower corner. One of the earliest stage of boats in the Americas, the canoe was used by Native people as a means of transportation and for hunting. A herd of deer or other native animal can also be seen in this area. The herd symbolizes the natural life and native species that are in this landscape before the empire. The mountain is untouched by people, acts as a background to the scene, and, as previously mentioned, will be a repeating element of the images.
The Course of Empire by Lauren Polli
The Course of Empire is a series of paintings painted by Thomas Cole from 1834-1836. The series starts with a painting called The Savage State depicting a scene of nature. A native American campground can be seen in the background along with several natives that appear to be hunting or preparing to attack in the bushes. The picture is mainly nature and a dark cloud or storm that is taking over the picture. The title The Savage State alludes to the state of time when people could not control nature, when nature was the dominant force. The left side of the painting is in the light, as if there is more to be explored on that side of the land.
The second painting in the series is called The Arcadian or Pastoral State and in this painting you can see the same mountain that is in the background of the first painting. This is showing that the scene is the same setting just later on. This scene has less nature than The Savage State, but there are more people and more civilization. The waterfront is beginning to look like a port of sorts where people can trade goods, and there are permanent structures built. The people are wearing togas, and the architecture is reminiscent of ancient Greece or Rome.
The third painting, called The Consummation of Empire, shows the same setting with the mountain in the background as the rest of the series. However, now there are significantly more buildings and people than nature. The painting is of a big city with hundreds of thousands of people. The city looks to be like the Roman empire. It is big, crowded and civilized. All the natural elements have been contained by humans. They potted the plants, tamed the fires, and controlled the water into a canal. The dominant colors of the paintings switched from very natural colors to vibrant reds and whites.
In the fourth painting, Destruction, the images take a turn from progressing in society to progression backfiring on them. The fourth image shows the same city from the third picture, but in the midst of a war. The calmness from previous paintings has left. Buildings are destroyed, the water is rough, and the clouds are dark. There are soldiers attacking men, women, and children. The sea is filled with dead bodies and struggling people. The statue at the foreground of the painting is missing his face, along with the other statues in the picture. This painting shows the destruction of a seemingly perfect civilization.
The fifth, and final painting is titled Desolation. In this painting you can see the ruins of the city. There is a sole column standing upright in the middle of the picture. On top of the column, a bird is building a nest. The bird represents the regrowth of nature. Nature has taken back over the land. There are no more people or wars, and everything is calm again. The moon is in the center of the sky, which is symbolizing how it is time for the land to rest. It has been through people building and destroying it. The color palette is back to muted and natural colors, like greens and browns and blues.
This series of paintings, The Course of Empire by Thomas Cole, shows the full circle of the Roman Empire.He painted these in 1834-1836, with the intent of showing what happened to the last major republic. America is a new country at this point in time, and he wants to show that America can get farther than the Romans did.America rose from the ashes of the Roman Empire, and it will not fall.
The Course of Empire Series by Matt Monarchik
The Course of Empire painting are a series of five paintings that were painted in 1836. The paintings are oil on canvas paintings and were painted by Thomas Cole. The set of paintings is composed of five pieces titled: The Arcadian or Pastoral State, The Savage State, The Consummation of Empire, Desolation, and Destruction. Thomas Cole attended the Hudson River School. The Hudson River School was searching for a view of America and to establish an art narrative. The first painting of the series is The Course of Empire: The Savage State.
If you look closer at the first painting, it is showing a life as a savage wilderness. In this painting, the light is what draws your eyes towards certain parts of the parts. For example, you can tell that they are moving towards new land in the West. In the bottom left, you can see a man that is leading his tribe into the new world. The right side has a darker look, which shows how the land is undiscovered and ready to be inhabited. While your eyes may be attracted to light, one of the most important parts of this painting is the mountain in the background. As we move into the next paintings the mountain becomes the focal point.
One of the other paintings in the series is called The Course of Empire – The Consummation of the Empire. As you look closer at the painting, you will notice that Thomas Cole used a lighter schemed compared to the previous paintings. This is used to show a lively and vibrant city rather than a dark and gloomy look. The main theme that given off the photo is pure beauty. If you look closely at the painting, the color scheme, which is mainly white and gold, is giving off the painting shows life and prosperity. In this painting, we have moved inside the mountain. As we progressed through the paintings, we slowly entered the mountain making it the focal point.
All in all, the paintings in this series all are mixed together by one main point, which is the mountain. Thomas Cole uses imagery to depict the uninhabited land that then changes into living state. This shows the evolution and enhancements of civilizations overtime, and how they have interacted with each other.
The Course of the Empire: Consummation by Bell McKee
The third entrance to the “Course of the Empire” series by Thomas Cole depicts a developed city of great complexity and it entitled, “The Course of the Empire: Consummation.” It is now mid morning and as the busiest image in the oil paint series, there is a lot of unnatural colors and sights to be seen. The mountain now lies on the right side of the image and continues to be mostly untouched, set aside a few very basic structures preparing to be constructed. The focus of the image no longer lies in nature, hence the mountain being moved to the right and the color scheme drastically changing.
Prior images in the series constituted of colors seen in nature and featured visible vegetation. This image is far from their simplicity. Gone are the simple sail boats in the baby bay of “The Course of the Empire: The Arcadian or the Pastoral State,” they are now replaced by bright and flashy boats who sport sails of varying colors and patterns and hulls adorned in accents of gold. The baby bay has grown to a full adult harbor, complete with attributes to the Alexandrian Lighthouses at its’ entry. Smoke seamlessly pouts off of these lighthouses and is mainly there to signify that a fire burns there.
Buildings of white marble stone show the strength and knowledge now possessed by the civilization as well as their ability to master the Earth’s materials. Roofs and statues also sport a lushus gold showing their wealth. Columns similar to those seen on modern government buildings and carved stores also dot the city. The central building is now on the left side of the painting. A statue of Athena can be seen as well on the right side of the image. She demonstrating the new religion and gods, verses the old ones practiced by the Natives when they were dancing around the fire. Athena is the goddess of battle strategy and wisdom and overlooks the city. This is a form of foreshadowing for the next image in the series which will feature the violent downfall of the empire.
