Hi all! apologies for the later post, normal timed posts (5:00 AM ET) will be back up tomorrow. The reason I delayed this one is because of a problem with my current workflow. When I sit down after school each night, I write the newsletter, schedule it for the next morning, make a short about it, and then post the short. The problem is that I like to put the analysis in the comments of the short, which gets posted a day before the newsletter.

I took a gap day to swap the order so the newsletter for any given piece will come out BEFORE the short.

As always, if you have any suggestions on improvements for this newsletter, please don’t hesitate to reach out by replying to this email. I’m always open to feedback.

With that said, on to the regular post!

If you're new to this newsletter here’s how it works:

Each morning I spend a few minutes searching the internet for an old painting or similar that I think looks cool (professional I know). Today it was this painting of the destruction left after a failed empire:

(View the full sized image here)

I then give identifying info about the work to Perplexity with the instructions to research it and tell me all the interesting things it can about said work.

The Haunting Beauty of "The Course of Empire: Desolation" - A Tale of Time's Relentless March

In the soft silvery glow of moonlight, the remnants of a once-magnificent civilization stand in silence. This is the scene that unfolds in Thomas Cole's hauntingly beautiful "The Course of Empire: Desolation," the final masterpiece in his five-part series that chronicles the rise and fall of human civilization. A solitary column towers in the foreground, a lone sentinel guarding the memories of past glory, while its fallen companions lie scattered about. Nature has begun its patient reclamation project – ivy climbs and twists around broken marble, and vegetation sprouts between ancient stones. At the column's summit, a heron has built its nest, symbolizing life's persistence amid decay. The tranquil moonlit bay reflects the ruins perfectly, creating a symmetrical composition that invites contemplation on the ephemeral nature of human achievement.

The Final Chapter in Cole's Epic Tale

"The Course of Empire: Desolation" represents the poignant conclusion to Cole's ambitious series examining the cyclical nature of human civilization. Completed in 1836, this oil on canvas (measuring 39¼ x 63¼ inches) was specifically designed to evoke what Cole himself described as "the funeral knell of departed greatness." Cole intended for this painting to "express silence and solitude," as he wrote to his friend Asher B. Durand. Indeed, it is perhaps the most original and certainly the most poetic of the five canvases in the series.

The painting follows the dramatic fourth canvas, "Destruction," which depicted the violent overthrow of the empire. In "Desolation," however, we witness the aftermath – not of recent chaos, but of the slow, inexorable passage of time. The human drama has ended, leaving only architecture's skeletal remains as testament to what once was.

A Visual Symphony of Decay and Rebirth

Cole's composition is masterful in its emotional impact. The scene is bathed in the ethereal light of a full moon that casts its glow over the tranquil waterway. This creates a scene of both melancholy beauty and strange serenity. The ruins reflect perfectly in the still water, creating a symmetrical composition that invites viewers to contemplate the temporal nature of human achievements versus the persistence of the natural world.

Particularly striking is how Cole has returned the mountain to prominence in this final canvas. This geographic feature appears in all five paintings of the series, but here it has "returned to its natural state and is reestablished as a key feature in the scene." The mountain stands as it did before human civilization arose, reminding viewers of nature's permanence against humanity's transience.

Nature's Triumphant Return

The wildlife present in the painting tells its own compelling story. The deer, which were shown being hunted in "The Savage State" (the first painting of the series) and later appeared frozen in a frieze in "The Consummation of Empire," can now freely roam the landscape once again. A bird builds its nest atop a column once supporting a temple or palace, while its mate drinks from the pool below – perhaps an allusion to the pairs of animals that survived the Biblical flood. These natural elements aren't merely decorative but carry symbolic weight, suggesting that while empires may rise and fall, nature's cycles continue uninterrupted.

The Allegorical Message

Cole's pessimistic vision differed markedly from that of many of his peers. In the early years of the United States, the nation's future was widely considered limitless and endlessly optimistic. Yet Cole presented a cyclical view of history in which a civilization appears, matures, and inevitably collapses.

The painting serves as a powerful memento mori – a reminder of mortality and the ephemeral nature of human glory. The vastness of the scene, with distant hills and remnants of once-majestic structures, evokes a deep sense of melancholy that would have resonated with viewers steeped in Romantic sensibilities.

Interestingly, Cole even applied this meditation on mortality to himself. His signature at the lower right appears upside down and incised into a stone partially overgrown with vegetation. This placement suggests the artist's own awareness of his mortality and eventual reunion with nature in death – the "C" in his name had already disappeared under the growth at the time of painting.

The Literary and Historical Inspirations

Cole drew from numerous literary sources for "The Course of Empire" series, including Edward Gibbon's "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" and Lord Byron's epic "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage." The motto Cole attached to the series came from Byron's popular poem: "First freedom, then glory; when that fails, wealth, vice, corruption."

The title for the series itself came from Bishop George Berkeley's 1729 poem, "Verses on the Prospect of Planting Arts and Learning in America," which begins "Westward the Course of Empire takes its way." This connection to American expansion suggests that Cole may have been offering a subtle warning to his young nation about the dangers of unchecked ambition and material excess.

The ruins depicted in "Desolation" recall those that Cole sketched during his first trip to Europe between 1829 and 1832. These real-world inspirations gave authenticity to his imagined ruins, though the civilization depicted isn't meant to represent any specific historical empire.

A Commissioned Masterpiece

In 1833, Thomas Cole secured a commission from New York merchant Luman Reed to paint a cycle of five paintings for the art gallery in Reed's home. The five paintings of "The Course of Empire" were specifically designed for a prominent spot in Reed's third-floor picture gallery in his New York City mansion at No. 13 Greenwich Street. Today, the complete series is housed at the New-York Historical Society, having been gifted by the New-York Gallery of the Fine Arts in 1858.

The Artist Behind the Vision

Thomas Cole (1801-1848) was an English-American artist who became one of the foremost landscape painters of his generation. Born in England, Cole emigrated to America with his family, eventually becoming the founder of the Hudson River School, America's first true artistic fraternity.

With "The Course of Empire" series, Cole achieved what he described as a "higher style of landscape," one suffused with historical associations, moralistic narrative, and what he felt were universal truths about mankind's relationship with the natural world. Unlike many of his contemporaries who celebrated America's manifest destiny and boundless potential, Cole maintained a more cautious outlook, warning through his art that even the mightiest civilizations eventually succumb to time and nature's reclamation. Through works like "Desolation," Cole left an indelible mark on American art, elevating landscape painting to a vehicle for profound philosophical reflection on humanity's place in the world and the ultimate impermanence of all our grandest achievements.

And that's it!

If you have any details you think Perplexity left out, reply to this email and I'll adjust my prompt to nudge it to include it next time.

This blog was part of my daily newsletter. You can subscribe to it here.

Thanks for reading!

-JP

Current prompt: I want you to create a newsletter post describing the fun and exciting stories around a painting. It should be a newsletter read for leisure and should be an enjoyable read (not just a list of facts) here's what you’re gonna do: Find the name of the following painting in its original language and any alternative names it goes by. Then Research the painting and give me blurb telling me all you can about the artist, the historical context/events it was created in, the style, the materials used, the composition and visual elements, the story/underlying message, what inspired the work/what it meant to the author, and whatever other info you find that helps give a complete understanding of the work. A description of what is depicted (mention subjects) should be the first thing, while the “biography” of the artist should be last. Besides that you are free to present the information in a concise and captivating way, with the most interesting and novel stuff closest to the top. Order the presentation of information for which pieces have the most compelling and interesting story to tell. At least some of the description should be formatted like a story. [for example: a couple sits on a bench watching the sunset while a man next to them…]. ONLY include information that is for THIS SPECIFIC PAINTING. you will find info on paintings similar to this one but NOT this one. OMMIT INFO ABOUT SUCH PIECES.