Ruined Tower

Thomas Cole

(1801-1848)
Oil on composition board, c. 1832-36
AIHA Collection

Cole's first European tour from 1829-1832 inspired new approaches to his composition technique and philosophy of art. This painting of a ruined tower was most likely done in Cole's Catskill studio following his return from Italy, using sketches of Mediterranean Coast towers made during his travels. Cole may have also taken inspiration from English artist John Constable's similarly composed painting, Hadleigh Castle (1829), a dramatic scene of desolation and ruin.

Cole used the image of the tower in various allegorical paintings as symbols of society's rise and ruin. A devout Christian, Cole ultimately focused on the temporary state of human life and achievement in contrast with the dramatic power and inevitable authority of nature and God.

Morning, Looking East Over the Hudson Valley from the Catskill Mountains

 by Frederic Church

Lake Winnepesaukee

  by Thomas Cole

Ruined Tower

 by Thomas Cole

Dawn of Morning, Lake George

 by Jasper Francis Cropsey

An Old Man's Reminiscences

 by Asher D. Durand

Distant View of Albany

 by William M. Hart

The Adirondacks

 by James McDonald Hart

Storm King on the Hudson

 by Homer Dodge Martin