Thomas Cole: The Voyage of Life

The Voyage of Life - Childhood, 1842
oil on canvas

The post that Dan made on Carl Jonas Linnerhielm, the Swedish traveler, painter and writer from the second half of the XVIII-th century called me in mind an American traveler, painter and writer, who lived in the first half of the XIX-th century. His name was Thomas Cole.

But firstly (as Dan wrote his post in Romanian) here are some words about Linnerhielm: he’s been called the first Swedish tourist; with his pencil, watercolour brushes, sketchbooks – and a predilection for the picturesque – he captured the Sweden of Gustav III, from Skåne in the south to Älvdalen in Dalarna (Nationalmuseum).

The Voyage of Life - Youth, 1842
oil on canvas

Linnerhielm made his travels in Lapland, Cole went up the Hudson Valley on the Catskills and painted great landscapes.

But I will talk about his landscapes in a future post, as it is much to say about Thomas Cole. He founded the Hudson River School and was considered the most important American painter of the first half of the XIX-th century.

The Voyage of Life - Manhood, 1842
oil on canvas

Here I want to talk about a famous series of four allegorical paintings created by Thomas Cole: The Voyage of Life. I see them every time I'm going to Washington National Gallery.

It is the journey of an archetypal man through his life. Innocent in the childhood, enthusiast and over-confident in the youth, advancing by trail and error as years are passing, up to the old age, when only belief in God can give him the sense of what he lived: Cole was a deeply religious man, he also believed in the moral task of the art and this series of paintings speak with genuine force about his profound convictions.

The Voyage of Life - Old Age, 1842
oil on canvas

Here is what the Washington National Gallery catalog says about The Voyage of Life:

Confidently assuming control of his destiny and oblivious to the dangers that await him, the voyager boldly strives to reach an aerial castle, emblematic of the daydreams of youth and its aspirations for glory and fame. As the traveler approaches his goal, the ever-more-turbulent stream deviates from its course and relentlessly carries him toward the next picture in the series, where nature's fury, evil demons, and self-doubt will threaten his very existence. Only prayer, Cole suggests, can save the voyager from a dark and tragic fate.

(Washington DC National Gallery of Art)