“The Voyage of Life: Childhood”
“The Voyage of Life: Childhood” is a large-scale oil on canvas painting made in 1842 by the English Hudson River School artist, Thomas Cole. This is the first of four in a series he created called The Voyage of Life. This series is one of Cole’s large-scale grand allegorical works. In it, he depicts the four stages of human life: childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age.
In this painting, Cole depicts an archetypal hero at the beginning of his voyage through life. The man is a child just born, emerging from a cave on a boat. Arms outstretched and accompanied by his guardian angel; he is fearlessly approaching his destiny. Throughout the series, life is symbolized as a river.
The landscape of the scene is American, painted in the Hudson River School of Art style. Cole blends together realism with romanticism. The landscape is overtly symbolic. Everything is lush and the sun is shining, which Cole meant as a reflection of the child’s innocence and joy at the fresh start of life.
The Voyage of Life series was well-received by critics and art fans in its day. America was going through a cultural shift. Religion was heavily revived, in a period sometimes referred to as the Second Great Awakening, and Cole was a vocal Christian.
“The Voyage of Life: Childhood” is currently on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
For more on Thomas Cole, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
