The Titan's Goblet by Thomas Cole
The Titan's Goblet by Thomas Cole, oil on canvas, 1833. The culmination of Cole's romantic fantasies, this work echoes the artist's other works of the period in its Italian derived scenery and its attempt to illustrate themes dealing with the grandeur of the past, the passage of time, and the encroachment of nature. Rejected by Cole's patron, Luman Reed, and subsequently owned by the artist John M. Falconer, the work defies full explanation. The massive, vegetation encrusted goblet around whose rim are found classical ruins, and on whose glassy surface boats sail, has been linked to Norse legend and Greek mythology. The elevation and remove of the cup, rimmed with classical remnants, suggests the disassociation of the present, embodied in the surrounding landscape, from the pinnacle of creation which nourished its culture. Cole serves as intermediary, a role open only to the artist or poet, transcending the strictures of the immediate world to unite past and present.
Size: 3319px × 3900px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -, 1833, 19th, ancient, antiquity, arts, canvas, century, civilization, classical, cole, culture, deity, famous, fine, giant, goblet, greek, historic, historical, history, immortal, important, legend, legendary, myth, mythological, mythology, nordic, norsemen, norway, norwegian, notable, oil, primeval, primordial, romantic, thomas, titan, viking
