Thomas Cole's The Titan's Goblet Analysis Essay

Description

In 1833, Thomas Cole created an oil painting called The Titan’s Goblet. On this canvas, a large overgrown rimmed goblet sits on a cliff. The sun, casting a yellow hue, is accompanied by purple and pink clouds. The mountains sit tall behind the goblet and the sea floats calmly at the base of the cliff. Within this goblet, ruins of a small city rest adjoin a body of water where sailboats sail. When creating this piece, Cole mirrored Italian sceneries, Greek mythology, and the Norse legend, The Tree of Life. These inspirations led to the painting embodying the ideas of “the grandeur of the past, the passage of time, and the encroachment of nature” (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022). Although the painting's origins are unknown, it is known that the piece was created in the United States. The artwork had many owners before being displayed. These people include, “James J. Mapes, John M. Falconer, and Samuel Putnam Avery Jr.” (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022). In 1842, viewers observed the piece at The Pennslyvania Academy of the Fine Arts(The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022), located in Philadelphia. Following Penn. Academy, The Museum of Modern Art, located in New York City in 1936 (Parry 123), displayed Cole's work. Now, The Titan's Goblet lives within the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This small canvas is framed on a wall and viewed directly. The canvas is measured to be 19 ⅜ x 16 ⅛ inches. 

Analysis 

I believe that Cole did an excellent job depicting the chosen themes of time, the past, and nature. Although the piece is two-dimensional, the romantic style that Cole uses makes you feel like you’re being transported into this whimsical realm with the goblet. He utilizes art elements and principles to bring detail to his work. 

In addition to warm and cool tones, light sources are used to emphasize objects in the painting. Since the goblet represents the past, a light source is used to highlight the goblet as a focal point. Cole also uses this effect to show the connection of the goblet to The Tree of Life legend. The light reveals the goblet holding life inside it like sailboats sailing in the water and ancient ruins decaying on the rim. Alongside its effect on the goblet, a light source emphasizes how the sun shines brightly before setting. Viewers can assume that the sun is setting because the clouds underneath it are sunset shades of pink and purple. This ties along with Cole's romantic aesthetic, which he used to stress the concept of nature. Furthermore, the sunset can also signify that time is passing, relating to the concept of time. 

When looking closer at the goblet's base, viewers can see that it’s made out of tree bark and is old. This reflects a historical subject and is linked to the Norse legend of The Tree of Life. This aged tree stump used for the goblet is created with contour lines and the color brown. Dark green bits are inserted to demonstrate that the tree is getting to the point where it can no longer battle the moss. Further investigation reveals that small blue lines are employed to give the illusion of water dripping from the glass. The inside of the goblet's water body is also adorned with fine lines. This gives the lingering sailing ships movement. On the rim of the cup, round green shapes are used to depict trees and shrubs. Circular green shapes are used to create trees and bushes on the goblet's rim. This makes viewers see that there is land here. Cole creates texture on the greenery parts to depict grass as well. Specs of pale yellow are incorporated to show that some of the grass is dying. Lines and rectangles are used to represent the ruins of the city found. The columns in the structures are created by the lines, while the contour of the buildings is created by the rectangles. 

Aside from the details of the goblet, there are several details used to create the scenery behind it. In the sky, a bright sun shines over the land. The light source depicts how the sun shines a yellow cast onto the scenery. Warm colors like yellow, purple, and pink can be found in the sky, highlighting how the sun may also be close to the setting. Shapes are used to create the clouds and texture is used to emphasize the movement of the clouds floating. Thin yellow lines are placed around the sun to point out that the sun is shining its brightest before dimming. Below the sun, there are mountains. These mountains are asymmetric to bring attention to the rigidness of the rocks. Cool colors like grey, black, and blue are used to bring more details to the sedimentary found on the mountains. Ahead of the mountains is the grassy cliff that the goblet rests on. The use of warm colors emphasizes the importance of the goblet's presence. Repetition is used by replicating the dying grass on the goblet and using it on the cliff. Asymmetric principles can be seen here on the cliff as it creates hills. It's also utilized to stimulate the rigidity of the cliff's edge.  Cooler colors like brown, black, and green can be seen, making the cliff seem like it's eroding into the sea. The water is dark green and blue, in contrast to the water in the goblet. 

Finally, visitors will notice another set of rocks on the canvas's far left side. These rocks are used as a focal point because they’re brighter than the rest of the landscape in the picture. The light source is used here by having more light and warmness on this rock. Cole balances the entire landscape with cool and warm tones, emphasizing the differences in each area. He also uses scale and proportion, making the goblet heavier and bigger than the rest of the features included on the land. This makes the goblet stand out to observers and wonder why the goblet is so big.

Interpretation

By analyzing the work of Thomas Cole, I’ve come to an understanding of the painting’s meaning. I believe that the artwork expresses the idea of the present merging with the past. Cole designed the goblet to resemble a tree because of the legend of The Tree of Life legend. The goblet appears to be made of brown tree bark and green vines. The use of contour lines makes the lenticels on the tree bark look as deep, giving the goblet the appearance of aging.  This legend is based on a tree that links past life and present life together. Cole illustrates this concept by using light to make the scenery behind the cup appear gloomy while the scene in front appears brighter. The dull scenery represents the past and the bright scenery represents the present. Aside from the scenery, the sun is setting over many mountain peaks. This shows that the day is coming to an end but it also has another meaning. The sun setting can show that time is passing, which can connect to the past life. The scenery looks brighter in front of the goblet due to the sun rays shining on this section.  This gives the idea of the present being in the front of the picture. When looking at the entire illustration, viewers can see how all of these elements create the idea of the present fading into the past. 

I believe Cole wished to emphasize the beauty of old Greek mythology and folklore, in addition to the concept of the present blending with the past. On the goblet, there are ancient ruins and sailboats. These elements are very similar to the Greek legend of Odysseus journeying back to his home in Ithaca. Other observers believed that Cole was depicting other myths aside from The Odyssey. As stated by The Met Museum, “Other theories tie the fantastic forms to J. M. W. Turner's "Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus" (National Gallery, London), to Italian architecture and geological formations, or the golden goblet of the sun-god Helios”(The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022). Furthermore, I think that Cole also emphasizes the goblet and the ancient Greek elements to show appreciation for the beauties of Italian sceneries. According to The Met Museum, “the culmination of Cole's romantic fantasies, this work echoes the artist's other works of the period in its Italian derived scenery”(The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022). This is no surprise that he created this appreciation, as he’s known for his romantic style of highlighting the charm found in nature.