Many individuals point to the annals of history, where countless civilizations, even fantastic civilizations, have been lost to time. Proponents of social cycle theory believe that civilizations rise and fall in a, as the name suggests, cyclical fashion. The defining narrative of Cole’s work is a reflection of what some sociologists and historians call “social cycle theory”. We see five stages of an imaginary city, from its incipient state of savagery, to its height and grandeur as an imperial city, and finally to its post-apocalyptic remains after its destruction. What makes The Course of Empire so fascinating, at least to myself, is that it tracks a civilization’s rise and fall. The writer James Fenimore Cooper called them “one of the noblest works of art ever wrought” (Davidson). Thomas Cole’s The Course of Empire paintings are widely regarded as some of the most important paintings in the history of American art. (Posting an essay I wrote for school here as a stopgap while I polish some other pieces I’m writing.
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