Empires Conquered by Weeds: Thomas Cole's Tribute to Nature's Inevitable Redemption of Land

Thomas Cole was a Romantic innovator in early America. Cole was the founder of the Hudson River School which was an American group that focused mainly on American landscape painting. Cole used mostly oil paints to capture his audience with dark, naturalistic pictures. He paints achingly nostalgic scenes of giant man-made structures that have been broken down by age or overgrown by nature. Through his works, he shows the finitude of man, how man’s buildings may appear grand and domineering but will eventually be dissolved into near nothingness. His use of light is capturing, seeping into the viewer an ache of nostalgia and humility as man is dwarfed by the greater natural landscape. Empires are overtaken by plants.

Interestingly, Cole’s work came at a time when the United States was deciding whether the rugged wilderness was what made America America, or if that land should be cultivated and built upon. Cole’s work creates an unsettling reminder that though man may build upon a piece of land, nature will eventually reclaim the land and men will die. With time nature only grows back. Man-made structures, when left behind, will only permit the vines to grow higher. It may take hundreds of years, but nature gains strength with age whereas we are only weakened. This curation shows The Titan’s Goblet alongside several other Cole creations to show this overgrown domination-structure of nature over man.

Thomas Cole, The Titan’s Goblet, 1833, Oil on Canvas, The Met, Accession Number: 04.29.2

A giant goblet is overgrown with moss and nature. It now fits in perfectly with the rugged mountains surrounding it. There are tiny boats and a city showing that man is still present, but the nature of the scene dwarfs the humans. The people themselves aren’t even visible. Though no notes have been left by Cole explaining the meaning behind this work, the emphasis is clearly on the natural subject matter such as the mountains and moss and water. The light radiates through the sky and reflects off the water, assisting those in sailboats, their lives depending on the nature around them. [1]

Thomas Cole, Mount Etna from Taormina, 1843, Oil on Canvas, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Accession Number: 1844.6

Ruins are depicted in the glow of an Italian sky. Pillars have fallen, short arches remain. Earth has grown up over the structures and foothills roll through the background leading up to a volcano, snow-capped, in the distance. One lone character, hooded, steps through the ruins in shadow. This civilization fell a long time ago and man now has the chance to view the reclaiming of the land. What an eerie feeling the lone character must feel as he steps through the broken pieces of what was once a vibrant culture and noble temple. Now the structures that once made man feel important have been altered and captured by the earth. [2]

Thomas Cole, Interior of the Colosseum, Rome, c. 1832, Oil on Canvas, Albany Institute of History & Art Purchase, Accession number: 1964.71



The Colosseum is pictured in ruin. The moss and vines have grown up around the levels of the Colosseum and the inner circle has been partially covered with grass. The structure that was once the cultural epicenter of the world has become part of the earth, adding another layer to the ground with its ruin. This painting motivated Cole to create one of his most famous series, the rise and fall of civilizations, which pictures exactly what the Rome of the Colosseum age went through, ending in destruction. [3]

Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire: Desolation, 1836, Oil on Canvas, Collection of the New-York Historical Society, Accession Number: 1858.5

This painting is the finale of the Course of Empire series. The land that was cultivated and turned into a lively, loud, colorful empire has come to its ruin. The Explore Thomas Cole website says that the painting narrates that “nature’s cycles are more powerful than anything constructed by human hands, no matter how exquisite or refined”. Thomas Cole himself adored these scenes of ruins and the way the earth interacted with them. This painting probably gives the most straightforward message about the earth triumphing over civilization. [4]

Thomas Cole, A View near Tivoli (Morning), 1832, Oil on Canvas, The Met Gallery 746, Accession Number: 03.27



Ruins of a building stand in front of a Romanesque bridge, both covered in vines and falling apart. A couple characters are scattered in the scene, one riding a horse through the arches of the ruins, another walking across the bridge with a dog. These structures are still being used by people, but it’s obvious that they are not celebrated as they once were. Now, they are the perch of vultures and the walkway of wanderers. The buildings are in the foreground of the painting, but behind them are mountains upon mountains that sit steadily as if taunting the ruins, for they will always be sitting, watching the ruins crumble into nothing.

Thomas Cole, Ruined Tower (Mediterranean Coast Scene with Tower), 1832-1836, Oil on composition board, Albany Institute of History & Art Purchase, Accession Number: 1965.1

According to the Albany Institute, “this work gives a compelling sense of nature’s agitated forces, but it is the looming, solitary form of the tower that dominates the landscape. It pointedly conveys Cole’s message about the fleeing fortunes of humankind and the changes of time”. While man’s fortunes may fail him and he and his structures may lay to rest, nature rages on. It has no concern for time, nor does it attempt to be remembered, it simply dominates and covers and claims. Though there is a character in the painting, Cole recommends through his composition that nature is at its best when no man is there to witness its totalitarian rule. [5]