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Analysis Of The Painting Course Of Empire Destruction By Thomas Cole

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Destruction is an exterior of tragedy that may come in many forms. When people hear the word destruction they may think of their own personal experience of destruction or tragedy. That may range from a house being torn apart by a tornado to a loss of a family member or president being assassinated. The effects of destruction are tremendous and terrible. That could affect one to thousands of people at a time resulting in massively spread pain and suffering. In the painting Course of Empire Destruction, by Thomas Cole (1836), there is a mass tragedy being painted. The tragedy being painted is the Vandals’ attack on Rome in 455. The pain and devastation was captured in this painting perfectly, through many colors and symbols, which affected thousands of people in many different ways. Cole used many techniques to show the enemy warriors taking over the town. Cole’s use of color and symbols reflect the destruction of the town. In the painting, Cole uses many colors and symbols to illustrate the effect of the attack. An old sandy color bridge is cast upon the middle of the painting, which is crumbling apart and crashing into the water. The water in this painting is dark blue and white showing the choppiness of the water. In the middle of the painting is a white statue with its head broken off, but still standing, holding a black shield leaning forward towards the center of the painting. In the background, fire and gray and black smoke cover the landscape. The gray skies

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