Art of Political Freedom: Thomas Cole's Course of Empire and the Rise of the Hudson River School
In this second of an ongoing lecture series (the previous episode is here), I deliver a presentation on Thomas Cole’s Course of Empire and broader political struggles over the soul of the early republic and humanity more broadly during the 19th century.
During this presentation, you will be introduced to the aesthetical movement of painting that aspired to achieve the transformative power of art outlined by the great Friedrich Schiller which demanded both a rigorous commitment to Truth while at the same time ensuring creative freedom and non-literalism.
This new school which aspired to unite the arts and sciences in a higher synthesis was led after Schiller's death in the young American republic by Alexander von Humboldt, James Fenimore Cooper, Samuel B Morse and a group of artists that came to be known as the Hudson River School led by a figure named Thomas Cole.
This was fantastic.