Works
The four-part series is an allegory that traces a man's voyage along the
"River of Life," portraying the innocence of childhood, the confidence and
ambition of youth, the trials of manhood, and the approach of death in old
age. Each painting places the voyager and his guardian angel in a different
part of the river and surrounding wilderness.
Art critics have ascribed a variety of potential inspirations to the work, the
most obvious being the Bible's "river of life" imagery and John Bunyan's The
Pilgrim's Progress, along with a variety of 19th-century poems, essays, and
sermons. Cole called the series an "Allegory of Human Life" and wrote
detailed descriptions of the paintings, conveying how each depicts a different
stage of the man's life and spiritual development. [5] The voyager has also
been seen as a personification of America, and the series as a warning
against westward expansion and industrialization. [6]
The versions of 1842 are not exact replicas of the 1840 originals, but the
alterations are generally minor. The most obvious difference is the brighter
colors of the replicas, perhaps due simply to differences in available
pigments.[7]
Childhood
The Voyage of Life: Childhood
Artist Thomas Cole
Year 1842
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimension 133 cm × 198 cm (52 in
s × 78 in)
Location National Gallery of Art
In the first painting, Childhood, all the important story elements of the series
are introduced: the voyager, the angel, the river, and the expressive
landscape. An infant is safely ensconced in a boat guided by an angel. The
landscape is lush; everything is calm and basking in warm sunshine,
reflecting the innocence and joy of childhood. The boat glides out of a dark,
craggy cave which Cole himself described as "emblematic of our earthly
origin, and the mysterious Past."[8] The river is smooth and narrow,
symbolizing the sheltered experience of childhood. The figurehead on the
prow holds an hourglass representing time.
In the first version of this work, Cole shows less landscape on the right side
and thus does not include the river winding to the horizon. The perspective is
also different: in the original, the boat is in the foreground, while in the
second, Cole moves the boat deeper in the picture and portrays more of the
river in the foreground.[9]
Detail of Thomas Cole's The Voyage of Life:
Childhood: The boat, child, and angel on the water.
Youth
The Voyage of Life: Youth
Artist Thomas Cole
Year 1842
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimension 134 cm × 194 cm (53 in
s × 76 in)
Location National Gallery of Art
The second painting, Youth, shows the same lush, green landscape, but here
the view widens as does the voyager's life experience. Now the youth has
firm hold of the tiller as the angel watches and waves from the shore,
allowing him to take control. The subject's youthful enthusiasm and energy is
evident in his forward-thrusting pose and billowing clothes. In the distance,
an ethereal citadel towers in the sky, a shimmering white beacon that
represents the dreams and ambitions of humanity.
Detail of Thomas Cole's The Voyage of Life:
Youth: shows the boy departing in the boat; the angel bids him farewell from
the shore.
To the youth, the tranquil river appears to lead directly to the shimmering
beacon, but at the far right of the painting one can just glimpse the river as it
changes to become rough and difficult with the danger of rocks.
Cole comments on the landscape and the youth's ambitions: "The scenery of
the picture—its clear stream, its lofty trees, its towering mountains, its
unbounded distance, and transparent atmosphere—figure forth the romantic
beauty of youthful imaginings, when the mind elevates the mean and
common into the magnificent, before experience teaches what is the Real." [8]
Manhood
The Voyage of Life: Manhood
Artist Thomas Cole
Year 1842
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensio 132.8 cm × 198.1 cm (52.3 in
ns × 78.0 in)
Location National Gallery of Art
Third in the series, Manhood, shows a now grown figure in the vessel, amid
the tribulations of adult life. Storm clouds ominously darken the sky, wind
whips at the man's clothing and rain falls in the background as the boat
approaches a treacherous part of the river which has become rocky and
rapid, running through a treacherous gorge marked by a gnarled, leafless
tree. Gentler country lies at the bottom of the defile and the distant sky line
lightens in that direction hinting of the hope of better times ahead. Among
the dangers the man has not lost his faith: he has let go of his boat's tiller
(which may have broken) and is part kneeling, gazing upward with hands
clasped together. The vessel's figurehead now holds the hourglass while far
above, behind and unseen by the voyager, his guardian angel continues to
watch over from the Heavens, shining brightly through a break in the clouds.
Cole writes:
Trouble is characteristic of the period of Manhood. In Childhood there is no
cankering 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,
to which the voyager is now approaching. The demon forms are Suicide,
Intemperance, and Murder, which are the temptations that beset men in
their direst trouble. The upward and imploring look of the voyager, shows his
dependence on a Superior Power, and that faith saves him from the
destruction that seems inevitable.[10]
Manhood contains the most differences between the original 1840 version
and the revised 1842 version. The modified version shows a reduction in the
wall of rocks and more of the distant sea. As in Childhood, he repositioned
the boat, moving it further back in the painting and closer to the rapids. He
also modified the stance of the voyager, from standing in the original to
kneeling in the replica.[11]
Original 1840 version of Manhood
Old Age
The Voyage of Life: Old Age
Artist Thomas Cole
Year 1842
Medium Oil on canvas
Dimensio 133.4 cm × 196.2 cm (52.5 in
ns × 77.2 in)
Location National Gallery of Art
The final painting, Old Age, is an image of death. The man has grown old; he
has survived the trials of life. The waters have calmed, the river flows into
the waters of eternity. The figurehead and hourglass are missing from the
battered boat; the withered old voyager has reached the end of earthly time.
In the distance, an angel descends from heaven, while the guardian angel
hovers close, gesturing toward the other. The man is once again joyous with
the knowledge that Faith has sustained him through this perilous life to the
promise of Heaven. The landscape is practically gone, just a few rough rocks
represent the edge of the earthly world, and dark water stretches onward.
Cole describes the scene: "The chains of corporeal existence are falling
away; and already the mind has glimpses of Immortal Life." [10]
