The Voyage of Life
Introduction :
The name of the artwork series is called "The Voyage of Life". The Voyage of Life was made in 1842 by English-born American artist, Thomas Cole. I chose to analyse this series as it connected well with the theme of my painting, which is a painting depicting a journey in life. Additionally, I found the series of paintings very intriguing and each and every painting has layers of meaning which could be interpreted differently.
The name of the artwork series is called "The Voyage of Life". The Voyage of Life was made in 1842 by English-born American artist, Thomas Cole. I chose to analyse this series as it connected well with the theme of my painting, which is a painting depicting a journey in life. Additionally, I found the series of paintings very intriguing and each and every painting has layers of meaning which could be interpreted differently.
Visual
When I first looked at the painting (without knowing the name of the paintings), I couldn't really connect it with any theme or understood what the painter wanted to convey. However, I was fascinated by the details of the paintings. Each had their own theme and colours that make them stand out and interpret a different idea/meaning. Also, I felt that there are references to religion, as in every painting there is an angel present or a man looking up to the sky, as if they are praying to God.
Emotional
When I first saw the painting, I was slightly confused as I couldn't wrap my head around the idea he was trying to convey (this was before I knew the titles). Also, I felt quite intimidated as it seemed as if the paintings were trying to convey a very heavy and serious meaning using the dark colours and implementing the ideas of religion into the artwork.
The Artist + Background Context
Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 – February 11, 1848) was an English-born American artist . He is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that grew in the mid-19th century. Cole's work is mostly known for its romantic portrayal of the American wilderness and also historical paintings.
Cole found work early on as an engraver. He was largely self-taught as a painter, relying on books and by studying the work of other artists. In 1822 Cole started working as a portrait painter, and later on gradually shifted his focus to landscape. He also painted allegorical paintings. The most famous of his allegorical works was the five-part series, The Course of Empire, which depicts the same landscape over generations.
He has also incorporated religious themes into his paintings. For example, this Voyage of Life series includes a guardian angel looking over an individual. Another one of his paintings titled "The Garden of Eden" (1828) includes Adam and Eve amongst waterfalls, plants and nature in general.
Wider Context
This painting was made around the times of the Second Great Awakening, which was the Protestant revival moment during the early 19th century in the United States. As Thomas was an American artist, he was heavily influenced by the social circumstances at that time. Cole also intended this series of paintings to be a moralising series that uses the landscapes as an allegory for religious faith. The four paintings were converted to engravings by James Smillie after Cole's death and the engravings widely distributed in time for the Third Great Awakening.
Associations and Influences
As mentioned before, Cole was famously known for portraying the American landscapes romantically. In this painting, Cole incorporated elements from the Romanticism movement. Also, each painting reflects the four seasons of the year and includes elements of nature such as the river, flowers and greenery, implementing the genre of landscapes.
Formal Elements
In the first painting of the series titled, "The Voyage of Life : Childhood", shows a small baby on a boat and a guardian angel behind him. Many flowers surround the river and the sky is painted with soft/pastel colours. The significance of the guardian angel being very near to the baby is to portray the idea that a child has to be protected and be safe at all times. The soft colours of the sky reflects the innocence and pureness of childhood. The river is also calm as to show the peace in childhood and also reflects back as to how a child has to be protected. The surrounding nature also symbolises the idea of the sheltered experience of childhood and also how the child will flourish beautifully like the flowers and greenery did. Furthermore, Cole himself described the dark cave as "emblematic of our earthly origin, and the mysterious Past". What I interpreted from that it is to represent how humans are firstly presented to earth in our childhood, learning bit by bit. Also, I felt that what Cole meant by "Past" was the previous life an individual has before they are reborn again. This adds into the religious theme as some religions such as Buddhism do have this idea that after one life of suffering, reincarnation happens and we are again reborn to this earth.
In the second painting titled, 'The Voyage of Life : Youth", it shows a child now riding the boat on his own whilst the guardian angel is left on soil. The setting of this painting is similar to the previous one ; rich in flora and fauna and the soft skies. The idea of the child riding the boat himself and the guardian angel watching him is show that the child has now taken some control in his life, however is still sheltered from afar for his safety. The setting which was the flourishing greenery represents the child as ever-growing and also the innocence and joy of youth through the soft and warm skies. However, in a distance, there is faint painting of castle. This is to symbolise the ambitions and dreams of humans that they realise starting from their youth, but the faintness of it shows that it is changing all the time and the idea of the castle shows their ambitions are very extravagant and far-fetched considering what reality is.
In the third painting titled 'The Voyage of Life : Manhood', it shows a complete contrast from the first two paintings. The child now grown into a young adult faces troubles along his way in life. The skies are now dim and dark, giving a grim atmosphere and the plentiful nature now rots and there is no greenery to be seen. The boat is damaged and the tiller is gone. Furthermore, the guardian angel is nowhere to be seen by the man, but is still watching over him. This shows that now the man must go through life on his own and that the sheltered childhood he has is now gone. The dying trees and dark skies shows the rocky and hard experiences of adulthood. The treacherous waters and narrow path shows that trouble is arising at any moment and that there is no way back. The man is also seen praying to a higher authority. This shows that he is no longer bright or hopeful and has no control anymore. Cole states, "Trouble is characteristic of the period of Manhood. In childhood, there is no carking care: in youth, no despairing thought. It is only when experience has taught us the realities of the world, that we lift from our eyes the golden veil of early life; that we feel deep and abiding sorrow: and in the Picture, the gloomy, eclipse-like tone, the conflicting elements, the trees riven by tempest, are the allegory; and the Ocean, dimly seen, figures the end of life, which the Voyager is now approaching."
Lastly, the fourth painting titled, 'The Voyage of Life : Old Age", shows the angel now near to the man, but also guiding him to the bright light in the dim clouds. The setting is similar to the third painting ; the grim skies and no signs of greenery anywhere. This painting symbolises the theme of death. The angel guiding him to the light shows that the angel is accompanying him to heaven. The landscape is gone, just a few rough rocks represent the edge of the earthly world. Cole describes the scene: "The chains of corporeal existence are falling away; and already the mind has glimpses of Immortal Life."
Bibliography :
The Voyage of Life. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2017, from Wikipedia website:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_Life
Thomas Cole. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Thomas_Cole
When I first looked at the painting (without knowing the name of the paintings), I couldn't really connect it with any theme or understood what the painter wanted to convey. However, I was fascinated by the details of the paintings. Each had their own theme and colours that make them stand out and interpret a different idea/meaning. Also, I felt that there are references to religion, as in every painting there is an angel present or a man looking up to the sky, as if they are praying to God.
Emotional
When I first saw the painting, I was slightly confused as I couldn't wrap my head around the idea he was trying to convey (this was before I knew the titles). Also, I felt quite intimidated as it seemed as if the paintings were trying to convey a very heavy and serious meaning using the dark colours and implementing the ideas of religion into the artwork.
The Artist + Background Context
Thomas Cole (February 1, 1801 – February 11, 1848) was an English-born American artist . He is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that grew in the mid-19th century. Cole's work is mostly known for its romantic portrayal of the American wilderness and also historical paintings.
Cole found work early on as an engraver. He was largely self-taught as a painter, relying on books and by studying the work of other artists. In 1822 Cole started working as a portrait painter, and later on gradually shifted his focus to landscape. He also painted allegorical paintings. The most famous of his allegorical works was the five-part series, The Course of Empire, which depicts the same landscape over generations.
He has also incorporated religious themes into his paintings. For example, this Voyage of Life series includes a guardian angel looking over an individual. Another one of his paintings titled "The Garden of Eden" (1828) includes Adam and Eve amongst waterfalls, plants and nature in general.
Wider Context
This painting was made around the times of the Second Great Awakening, which was the Protestant revival moment during the early 19th century in the United States. As Thomas was an American artist, he was heavily influenced by the social circumstances at that time. Cole also intended this series of paintings to be a moralising series that uses the landscapes as an allegory for religious faith. The four paintings were converted to engravings by James Smillie after Cole's death and the engravings widely distributed in time for the Third Great Awakening.
Associations and Influences
As mentioned before, Cole was famously known for portraying the American landscapes romantically. In this painting, Cole incorporated elements from the Romanticism movement. Also, each painting reflects the four seasons of the year and includes elements of nature such as the river, flowers and greenery, implementing the genre of landscapes.
Formal Elements
In the first painting of the series titled, "The Voyage of Life : Childhood", shows a small baby on a boat and a guardian angel behind him. Many flowers surround the river and the sky is painted with soft/pastel colours. The significance of the guardian angel being very near to the baby is to portray the idea that a child has to be protected and be safe at all times. The soft colours of the sky reflects the innocence and pureness of childhood. The river is also calm as to show the peace in childhood and also reflects back as to how a child has to be protected. The surrounding nature also symbolises the idea of the sheltered experience of childhood and also how the child will flourish beautifully like the flowers and greenery did. Furthermore, Cole himself described the dark cave as "emblematic of our earthly origin, and the mysterious Past". What I interpreted from that it is to represent how humans are firstly presented to earth in our childhood, learning bit by bit. Also, I felt that what Cole meant by "Past" was the previous life an individual has before they are reborn again. This adds into the religious theme as some religions such as Buddhism do have this idea that after one life of suffering, reincarnation happens and we are again reborn to this earth.
In the second painting titled, 'The Voyage of Life : Youth", it shows a child now riding the boat on his own whilst the guardian angel is left on soil. The setting of this painting is similar to the previous one ; rich in flora and fauna and the soft skies. The idea of the child riding the boat himself and the guardian angel watching him is show that the child has now taken some control in his life, however is still sheltered from afar for his safety. The setting which was the flourishing greenery represents the child as ever-growing and also the innocence and joy of youth through the soft and warm skies. However, in a distance, there is faint painting of castle. This is to symbolise the ambitions and dreams of humans that they realise starting from their youth, but the faintness of it shows that it is changing all the time and the idea of the castle shows their ambitions are very extravagant and far-fetched considering what reality is.
In the third painting titled 'The Voyage of Life : Manhood', it shows a complete contrast from the first two paintings. The child now grown into a young adult faces troubles along his way in life. The skies are now dim and dark, giving a grim atmosphere and the plentiful nature now rots and there is no greenery to be seen. The boat is damaged and the tiller is gone. Furthermore, the guardian angel is nowhere to be seen by the man, but is still watching over him. This shows that now the man must go through life on his own and that the sheltered childhood he has is now gone. The dying trees and dark skies shows the rocky and hard experiences of adulthood. The treacherous waters and narrow path shows that trouble is arising at any moment and that there is no way back. The man is also seen praying to a higher authority. This shows that he is no longer bright or hopeful and has no control anymore. Cole states, "Trouble is characteristic of the period of Manhood. In childhood, there is no carking care: in youth, no despairing thought. It is only when experience has taught us the realities of the world, that we lift from our eyes the golden veil of early life; that we feel deep and abiding sorrow: and in the Picture, the gloomy, eclipse-like tone, the conflicting elements, the trees riven by tempest, are the allegory; and the Ocean, dimly seen, figures the end of life, which the Voyager is now approaching."
Lastly, the fourth painting titled, 'The Voyage of Life : Old Age", shows the angel now near to the man, but also guiding him to the bright light in the dim clouds. The setting is similar to the third painting ; the grim skies and no signs of greenery anywhere. This painting symbolises the theme of death. The angel guiding him to the light shows that the angel is accompanying him to heaven. The landscape is gone, just a few rough rocks represent the edge of the earthly world. Cole describes the scene: "The chains of corporeal existence are falling away; and already the mind has glimpses of Immortal Life."
Bibliography :
The Voyage of Life. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2017, from Wikipedia website:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_Life
Thomas Cole. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Thomas_Cole