Empire path

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The Course of Empire is a series of five paintings by the American artist Thomas Cole, written in 1833-1836. It conveys the feelings prevalent in American society at a time when many considered pastoralism to be the ideal stage in the development of humanity, and the idea of an empire was associated with greed and inevitable decay. Cole has repeatedly addressed the topic of cycles - another example is his series of paintings "The Journey of Life."

The series was acquired by the New York Historical Society in 1858 as a gift to the New York Gallery of Fine Arts and includes the following canvases: The Way of the Empire. Primitive state "," The path of the empire. Arcadia or Pastoral "," The path of the empire. Prosperity "," The path of the empire. Collapse "and" The path of the empire. Desolation".

The paintings depict the rise and fall of an imaginary city located at the lower end of a river valley, where the river flows into a sea bay. The valley is easy to recognize on all canvases, in particular, thanks to an unusual feature - a large stone that rests unstably on the top of a cliff overhanging the valley. Some critics believe that this trait symbolizes the contrast between the immutability of the earth and the transience of man.

This series is characterized by a depressed mood. It reflects Cole's pessimism and is often regarded as his opinion of Andrew Jackson and the Democratic Party (it is worth noting the figure of the commander in the third canvas). However, not all democrats shared his opinion about the path of the empire: someone saw in him not a circle or a spiral, but an ascent upward. Thus, Democrat Levi Woodbury, who later became a judge of the US Supreme Court, told Cole that there would be no destruction in the United States.

Primitive state

On the first canvas, "The Savage State", from the shore opposite the cliff, a landscape flooded with the dim light of a windy day beginning. The hunter dressed in skins hurries through the forest jungle in pursuit of a deer; several canoes go up the river; on the far side of the river you can see a cleared space where a group of tipis surrounded a bonfire - here the heart of the city is about to emerge. The landscape is reminiscent of the life of the Indians, the native inhabitants of America. It symbolizes the ideal of a healthy natural world, untouched by man.

Arcadia or Pastoral

On the second canvas, The Arcadian or Pastoral State, the sky has cleared and a fresh spring or summer morning appears before us. The point of view has shifted along the river: the cliff with the stone has moved to the left side of the picture, in the distance behind it you can see a forked peak. Wildlife gave way to inhabited land - plowed fields and lawns. In the background, people can be seen engaged in various activities - plowing, grazing sheep, building a boat, dancing; in the foreground, an old man draws something similar to a geometric problem with a stick. A megalithic temple is built on the cliff, and smoke rises from it, probably from sacrifices. The landscape reflects the idea of idealized ancient Greece during the time when cities did not exist yet. A person here appears at peace with nature: he changed it, but not so much that something threatened her and its inhabitants.

Flourishing

On the third canvas, "The Consummation of Empire", the viewpoint is transferred to the other side - approximately to where in the first picture there was a cleared place. It was midday on a splendid summer day. On both banks of the river valley there are now marble columns of buildings, whose steps descend to the water. The megalithic temple seems to have morphed into a huge domed building dominating the riverbank. The mouth of the river is guarded by two lighthouses, past which ships with Latin sails leave for the sea. A jubilant crowd floods the terraces and balconies, while the king or a victorious military leader in a scarlet cloak rides in a triumphant procession, crossing the river across the bridge. An elaborate fountain gushes in the foreground. The overall picture is reminiscent of the golden age of Ancient Rome. The luxury that manifests itself in every detail of this cityscape heralds at the same time the inevitable collapse of this powerful civilization.

Crash

On the fourth canvas, "Destruction", the perspective is practically the same as on the third - the artist only stepped back a little to make the view wider, and moved almost to the center of the river. Against the background of the storm, the robbery and devastation of the city is taking place. It seems that the enemy fleet overpowered the city fortifications, climbed up the river, and now its soldiers are burning the city, killing and raping its inhabitants. The bridge, over which a triumphal procession once passed, has been destroyed; a makeshift crossing is ready to fall apart under the weight of soldiers and refugees. The columns are broken, fire breaks out from the upper floors of the palace on the embankment. In the foreground is a statue of some revered hero (in the pose of a Borghese wrestler), headless, but still striding towards an uncertain future. In the weakening evening light, it is clear that the dead lie where death overtook them, in fountains and on monuments that were called to praise the greatness of a now dying civilization. This scene was probably inspired by the sack of Rome by the vandals in 455. On the other hand, at the bottom right of Blossom, two boys can be seen wearing red and green clothes, the same colors as the flags of the opposing sides in Downfall. One of them sank the other's boat with a stick. Perhaps in this way the artist hinted at the upcoming events.

Desolation

The fifth canvas, Desolation, depicts the aftermath of the invasion years later. The ruins of the city appear in the bluish light of the passing day. The landscape has begun to return to its natural appearance, and people are not visible on it, but the remains of their buildings show through from under the trees and ivy. In the background, stumps of lighthouses are visible; the arches of the destroyed bridge and the columns of the temple are still visible; in the foreground rises a lonely column, which has become a haven for a bird's nest. Near the lower right corner of the picture, you can see a black heron, and by the water to the right of the ruined temple - a deer, whose figure echoes the fleeing deer from the first picture. If the sunrise was depicted on the first canvas, then here the river water reflects the pale light of the rising moon, and the last rays of the setting sun are reflected from the column. This sad picture symbolizes what empires become after the fall - a tragic future from which people have banished themselves.

History of creation

The title of the series is taken from the famous 19th century poem "Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America", which was written by George Berkeley in 1726. It talks about five stages of civilization. The last stanza begins with the line "Westward the course of empire takes its way" and predicts that a new empire will emerge in America.