The Course of Empire Desolation #2
by Thomas Cole
Title
The Course of Empire Desolation #2
Artist
Thomas Cole
Medium
Photograph - Oil Painting
Description
There are five painting in the series The Course of Empire by Thomas Cole
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.
Uploaded
September 4th, 2016
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