Sketch for "Aqueduct Near Rome"
Artist
Thomas Cole
(English/American, 1801 - 1848)
Datec.1832
MediumOil on paper on canvas
Dimensions8 1/8 x 12 1/4 in.
ClassificationsOil Painting
Credit LineGift of Howard H. Bristol, Jr.
Object number1988.31
DescriptionThe Museum owns two major early paintings by Cole. This study is typical of the small, loosely painted sketches that later inspired and informed the artist's larger studio compositions. The system by which fresh water was delivered to the millions of residents of ancient Rome was an engineering feat of enormous complexity. Obsessed with history and the rise and fall of civilizations, Cole saw in the majestic ruins of the aqueducts a reminder that once-omnipotent societies are ultimately reduced to architectural fragments.
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