Art Paper. analytical

Analysis of Thomas Coles painting, Falls at Tivoli

Art 105 Section 01
Dr. Larmann
5 April 2013

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Thomas Cole was born in England in 1801 and immigrated to the United States
when he was seventeen years old (“Biography of Thomas Cole”). Cole was self-taught
and first worked as a portrait artist in both Ohio and Philadelphia. Eventually, his works
were featured in exhibitions after he became involved in the Philadelphia Academy. Cole
first became recognized throughout the United States after an exhibition featuring his
paintings of the Catskill wilderness in New York. Cole later studied in Great Britain, and
he traveled to France and Italy; upon returning to the United States, he presented his
landscape paintings from his time spent abroad. Thomas Cole painted many series of
paintings, including The Course of Empire, Voyage of Life, and The Cross and the World.
Cole often used his paintings to communicate his disdain for industrialization and to
show the natural beauty that can be found in the world. Cole is considered to be the
founder of the Hudson River School, a group consisting of landscape painters from New
York City (“The Hudson River School”). Although he did not actually create the group,
his work served as an inspiration for the artists involved with the Hudson River School,
and Cole was the teacher of one of the most well-known members of the group, Frederic
Edwin Church. Thomas Cole painted until his death in Catskill in 1848 (“Biography of
Thomas Cole”).

A painting by Thomas Cole, Falls at Tivoli can be found at the Evansville
Museum of Arts, History, and Science (Figure 1; Evansville Museum). Falls at Tivoli is
situated near the corner of a large room on the second floor of Evansville Museum; the
painting is flanked by other landscape paintings (Evansville Museum). Falls at Tivoli was
painted using oil on canvas in a style that later become known as Luminism (Evansville
Museum). Starting in the mid-1900s, the word “luminism” started being used to describe

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landscape artists, such as Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, and Frederic Edwin Chuch
(Wilton). Luminism is a style that uses distorted light to emphasize water, sunsets, and
other areas of the work (Evansville Museum). The water sources being emphasized in
Thomas Cole’s painting are waterfalls of the River Aniene (Evansville Museum). The
subjects of the painting are the river and the hills of a small town approximately eighteen
miles outside of Rome, Tivoli (Evansville Museum; “Tivoli Italy”).

Figure 1: Falls at Tivoli by Thomas Cole, oil on canvas
The elements and principles of art can be easily observed in Falls at Tivoli. Line,

color, and value play an especially important role in the painting. Vertical, horizontal,
and diagonal lines are used throughout. The slightly curved vertical lines in the waterfall
and in the tree are the eye’s guiding force in the work. The eye is immediately drawn to
the rushing waterfall in the background of the work. Then, one’s eye moves to the tree
and down to the two figures in the foreground. Horizontal lines are also utilized in the
work and can be found in the building in the background and in the ground. Diagonal
lines, which help to express movement throughout the work, shape the hill in the

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foreground as well as the hill and part of the waterfall in the background. Differences in
color and value affect the emphasis of certain aspects of the painting; the brighter colors
of the waterfalls in relation muted colors of the hill on the opposite side makes the female
figure dressed in dark colors easy to miss. The intense colors and values used for the
clothing of the other female and the lightness of the ground beneath her allow her to be
easily seen. The light values of the waterfall, the sky, and the elevated land in the
background draw the eye to that area rather than to the dark area on the other side of the
work. The lines, color, and value Thomas Cole used are important for guiding the eye and
for emphasizing important parts of the work.

Falls in Tivoli also employs shape, perspective, balance, unity, and texture. The
shapes throughout the work are organic, making the painting realistic, and the shapes all
seem to flow into each other naturally. The largeness of the two figures in the foreground
in relation to the waterfalls in the background coupled with the hill overlapping the
waterfall gives the appearance of a three-dimensional area; because of the perspective,
one can easily tell which parts of the painting are supposed to be viewed as far away and
which parts are nearest. From a distance, the texture appears to be smooth; upon closer
inspection, however, one can how the brushstrokes were used to thickly build up paint
that make the landscape appear natural and almost rough. The painting is asymmetrical
but still well-balanced. The waterfalls on one side of the painting are balanced by the
large, grassy hill on the other. The tree that crosses from one side of the painting to the
other and the waterfall unify the colors in the painting; the darkness of the bottom is
balanced by the luminosity of the waterfall, while the radiance from the sunset is

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balanced by the dark green of the tree-top. All the features within the painting seem to
belong, and the painting appears to be complete.

In Falls at Tivoli, Thomas Cole paints the outdoors so that nature appears to be an
inviting presence rather than an overbearing or intimidating force. The lightness of the
sky and the waterfall immediately draw the viewer in by giving a sense of peace and
relaxation. The two female figures in the painting, especially the figure that is sitting
down, appear to be at ease, which is reflected to the viewer. The females seem to have
escaped from the harshness of everyday life for some relaxation and rejuvenation. While
the smallness of the figures in comparison to the largeness of the hills and the rushing of
the water show how powerful and overwhelming nature can be in relation to humans, the
painting also gives a tranquil, soothing feeling to the viewer because of the muted colors
that Thomas Cole used throughout. The restfulness of the figures and the land featured
around them give a sense of the differences between the bustling, industrial world that
people are so used to and the freedom and vastness of the outdoors. The two figures and
the inviting colors used throughout are effective at drawing viewers in.

Cole effectively captures the natural beauty of the world and presents it to the
viewer, reminding the viewer of the importance and serenity that can be found in nature.
Falls at Tivoli also reminds the viewer of the feeling of awe and the escape that one can
experience after leaving an active, hurried life for a more relaxing atmosphere. Thomas
Cole’s painting alone is enough to allow the viewer to realize and understand the
inadequacies of the industrialized world. Beauty can, of course, be found in the modern
world, but not to the extent that is found in Falls at Tivoli. The sense of freedom that is
portrayed in the painting, however, is more difficult to find in everyday life. In order to

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experience beauty and freedom in the magnitude found in Cole’s painting, most people
must escape their everyday lives. Falls at Tivoli is enough to inspire one to go on a retreat
to rediscover the world’s natural beauty.

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Works Cited
“Biography of Thomas Cole.” Thomas Cole National Historic Site. Thomas Cole

Historical House. 2013. Web. 3 April 2013.
Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science. 411 S.E. Riverside Drive, Evansville,

Indiana. 12 March 2013.
“Tivoli Italy.” Live in Rome. Life in Rome. 2012. Web. 4 April 2013.
“The Hudson River School.” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan

Museum of Art. 2013.
Wilton, Andrew. “Washington. American Light: The Luminist Movement 1850-1875.”

The Burlington Magazine. 122: 715-716.

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