Thomas Cole

The Titan's Goblet, 1833, oil on canvas, 49 x 41 cm

The Course of the Empire: The Savage State, 1836, oil on canvas

The Course of the Empire: Desolation, 1836, oil on canvas

Romantic Landscape with Ruined Tower, 1832-1836, oil on board

The Vesper Hymn, 1838, oil on canvas, 53 x 45 cm

I am particularly interested in Cole's work because he dealt with the similar idea of mine for a series of paintings by depicting different temporal settings through a process of decline in his The Course of the Empire. These paintings move through the different possible states of being of an empire from growth to decay by depicting an imaginary city. I believe this series suggests strong ideas of the cyclical nature of civilisation as there have always been rises and falls, which can also be connected to the idea of an impending apocalypse and what comes afterwards. Cole was a Romantic painter, hence there is a dedication to the atmospheric appearance of his skies, and the contrast between the built environment and the potential force of nature in undermining human's supposed supremacy.

I also particularly find his The Titan's Goblet a fascinating image, which with its play on levels of reality would later be appreciated by the Surrealists. The endless rocky landscape Cole has painted is interrupted by the monumental stone goblet, the scale of which is indicated by the tiny sailboats floating on the water and ancient settlement constructs. I love the epic nature of this image - its fantastic  quality and play on realism and fantasy. This most gives me ideas about playing with what sort of possibilities can be generated within a painting as even though they may not be able to exist in real life, anything is possible through the medium of art. I also think that I can push the style of the dioramic models I plan on making as though I may paint using a realist style, the models do not have to be precise replicas, hence this is the making stage where I can have a lot of fun experimenting and letting my imagination run wild.