Landscape painting was extremely important during the middle of the nineteenth century. One of the leading practitioners of landscape painters in America was Thomas Cole. He visited many places seeking the natural world to which he might utilize his direct observations to convey the untainted nature by man to his audience. His works resolved to find goodness in American land and to help Americans take pride in their unique geological features created by God. Thomas Cole inspired many with his brilliant works by offering satisfaction to those seeking the truth (realism) through the works of others.
Thomas Cole was born on February 1, 1801 in Bolton, Lancashire, England. Due to financial problems his family endured, Cole, at the ripe old age of just fourteen, had to find work to assist with the family needs. He entered the work force as a textile printer and wood engraver in Philadelphia. In 1819, Cole returned to Ohio where his parents resided. Here, a portrait painter by the name of Stein, would become Coles primary teaching vehicle and inspiration for his oil techniques weve come to be familiar with.
During this time, Cole was extremely impressed by what he saw in the landscapes of the New World and how different they were from the small town of England from whence he hailed. Self taught, art came naturally to Cole. One day Cole set out to observe nature and its wilderness. He began painting pictures by first making oil sketches of American rocks, trees, sunsets, plants, animals, as well as distant Indians. From these sketches he formed several paintings. Most famous for his allegorical collection called the The Course of Empire and is well-known for his Landscape paintings, The Oxbow, The Woodchopper, and The Clove, Catskills.
In January of 1826, Cole had become to be known for founding the National Academy of Design. During this time, many would comission him to paint pictures of American scenery, but his primary desire and goal, he says, was to create a higher style of landscape that would express moral or religious tones. In 1836, Cole married Maria Barstow and settled in Catskill, New York. Catskill would obviously become the inspiration for his piece, Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River. From these paintings he influenced many other artists. Among these artists were Frederick Edwin Church and Albert Bierstadt.
Thomas Cole led the first American school of Landscape, called the Hudson River School. The success of the Hudson River School led to the formation of the National Academy of Design. The Hudson River School became an important part of the American culture and would come to introduce many leading artist such as Asher Brown Durand and Thomas Doughty, as well as the second generation of artists such as Frederick Edwin Church, Sanford Gifford, and Albert Bierstadt. These artists shared a common background. Most notably, they were Romantic Realists who found great wonders in the countryside of the New World.
They searched the Hudson Valley and areas of New England to find unique images of America. With the influence of famous works of literature from those such as Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, and Bryant, these realists combined detailed panoramic images with moralistic insights. They perceived the landscape as having a feeling of hopefulness, divinity, and harmony. Many neighboring countries had crushed America during the time of war and peace. Since that time, Americans yearned to see their nation survive. In his paintings, Cole seems to focus on an ideal America.
He demonstrated this by painting vistas that combined both idealism and realism. He impressed several of his colleagues by demonstrating a painter of landscape that possessed strength and determination. And more notably, an artist willing to conquer the hazards of weather and terrain in an attempt to achieve success. In the beginning of the 1800s, artists such as Thomas Cole painted pictures of the East, specifically the Hudson Valley. The result of Coles first sketch on the Hudson River, The Course of the Empire, inspired a new generation of artists to follow his direction.
By the 1850s, other artists followed suit and began to travel further into the west as well as distant places such as the South American Tropics, in a bid to capture a more spectacular American wilderness. The Course of the Empire was one of Coles famous allegorical works that dealt with the stages of an empire. This painting is separated into five stages: The Savage State, The Pastoral State, The Consummation of Empire, Destruction, and Desolation, effectively portraying the relationship between man and nature. Cole believed that human empires and civilizations were not permanent.
Throughout history, empires have risen and fallen. His agenda was to convey that man can dominate and create a civilization, but that his civilization will eventually turn to destruction and failure. In The Course of the Empire, Cole portrayed each picture from the same vantage point, but depicted different seasons, time, and weather conditions to inhibit a different mood. The message Cole demands with each piece is that nature ultimately has the supreme control and that man, regardless of his futile pursuit, cannot change that.
In his first canvas, The Savage State, a bay with grassy green land can be seen on the near side. On the far side, however, one can find smoke rising from the colony of teepees with a noticeable mountain rising in the distance. The atmosphere of the painting seems dark and untamed. Broken trees, thick underbrush, and a hunter trying to kill a deer is depicted in the foreground. From a far distance, one can see a fire and the gathering of savages. By featuring the hunters running near a stream with weapons in hand, such as bows and spears, they will be perceived as wild and barbaric.
The dark gray clouds in this painting hover about the mountain, while the water remains to show its roughness by crashing against the shore. This work of art represents the Primitive state of the natural world in the presence of man. Thomas Cole writes in his prose description of this stage, The Empire is asserted, although to a limited degree, over sea, land, and the animal kingdom (qtd. in Parry156). In his second canvas, The Pastoral State, the area is relatively the same, but the perspective of the painting has slightly changed. Unlike the first stage with its broken trees, this stage is tamed and shows order.
There are beautiful green grass fields in the scene, which may show that man has tamed the area in an attempt to ready it for colonization. This painting depicts several people hurried and busy, going about their daily lives and then some simply relaxing the day away. For example, shepherds can be seen as well as thinkers, imperial soldiers, and women working on chores at the stream with their children. The animals are being used for agriculture work and some are grazing. More houses and different building styles can be seen now in contrast to the first stage painting.
In this painting, the mood appears to be calm and man appears to be enjoying himself. Overall, this image represents a state in which man has changed nature to suit himself by taming the ones that are barbaric and being more civilized about the essential quality of nature. The third painting in this succession, The Consummation of Empire depicts great advances in mankind than those of the first two. Roads and other structures have been erected. The water is calm, there are a few clouds, and two columns can be seen marking the entrance to the bay. Considerably more people are present in this setting than depicted in the previous stages.
There are apparent crowds of people about luxurious walkways, boats, and in buildings well. The environment in this painting conveys humans as being prosperous and abundant. And by dominating nature by manipulating the natural world to fit their needs. The fourth part of the series, Destruction portrays a number of warriors attacking the community rendering massacre and destruction. Fighting is relevant everywhere while the dead and the dying lay about the walkways and buildings. The beautiful and stately columns depicted in the third stage have now been damaged as well as some houses.
The sea is no longer calm and the clouds appear smoky and thick. The main purpose of this canvas is to indicate that human empires will not last, and at some point face destruction, whether self-inflicted or naturally. The final part of this painting, Desolation is noticeably unlike its predecessors and takes place at night. It denotes calmness with the glistening of the moon reflecting in the bay and a few clouds strung abroad the night sky. Humans are no longer present but evidence of their inhabitation remains. Broken pillars and ruined structure line the coast with the overgrowth of mosses and plants.
The area is quite wild due to the awkward overtaking of the native plant life. The mountain still stands in its place, but alone without the human presence. The sea shines with peacefulness and on the far side two deer can be seen enjoying a drink of water. The point of this portrait is to acknowledge the ultimate reclamation of nature and its supreme power over man. The deer have returned and so have the plants and trees. The marks and scars left by man have become part of its natural surroundings. Cole held many views about nature, human life and mortality. He believed that the nation bestowed a wild beauty.
Cole explained in one of his articles, To walk with nature as a poet is the necessary condition of a perfect artist. He illustrated the American landscape with a new vision, but at the same time he did remembered to paint pictures that portrayed allegorical and religious subject matter. He believed those as men live and die as do plants and animals. Cole used eroded mountains and dried up riverbeds to symbolize the cycles of nature and its co-relation to man. Meaning, naturally man dies as he ages and nature also looses its agility. Sometimes his pieces would represent; as the early settlement of America passes by, a new one takes its place.
The America that he portrays is competitive; abundant with resources and a society ranked by class. Cole enjoyed painting nature and he used nature in comparison to life. Another of his finest achievements would be The Oxbow. Completed in 1836, the sketches for this painting were completed at a real place, the Connecticut River Valley. On the left we find the wilderness of the mountain. Dead trees and living trees symbolize the cycle of nature. From a distance one can see the rivers peaceful bend, a golden light coming from the left, a storm spotted from far, and some trees blasting out on the near side.
This picture is painted as if the audience is taken into the moment. In the center of the painting, we see the artist sitting and painting the scene with his painting kit. The artist cannot be seen at a first glimpse because he is extremely small in the picture. He gives the audience a look at the future possibilities if they look into the distance. The fading storm reveals that nature will eventually be replaced by civilization. This scenery is beautifully amassed with its bright colors and amazing developed features. Thomas Cole did an excellent job in portraying realism in his paintings.
He helped America vision a society with possibilities, opportunities, and abundance of resources. Not only did Cole inspire the nation; he also influenced many artists who are now heading Coles way. Cole was a brilliant man of great intelligence who stole the hearts of many. In an article written by William Church Bryant, Bryant explains, We might dream in his funeral oration on Cole, that the conscious valleys miss his accustomed visits and that autumnal glories of the woods are paler because of his departure. Cole died on February 11, 1848 due to an illness and was remembered by many whom he helped to see the true vision of America.