Beyond the Notes

 Thomas Cole’s The Course of Empire (1834-36) is a series of five allegorical paintings depicting the rise and fall of a fantastical civilization.

Cole envisions a prehistoric age in which nature dominates man (The Savage State); an ancient utopia in which people live in balance with nature (The Pastoral State); an era of decadence (Consummation); war and chaos (Destruction); and finally, an uninhabited world in which the ruins of mankind are once again overtaken by nature (Desolation).

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Music Inspired by Art

• Nell Shaw Cohen, “The Course of Empire” (2008) Inspired by the paintings of Thomas Cole

This entry was posted on February 25, 2012 at 10:50 pm and is filed under Art, Guides, Romantic with tags Hudson River School, The Course of Empire, Thomas Cole. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.