托马斯·科尔作品《生命之旅：童年》高清图片

作品简介

在这幅横向构图的画作中，郁郁葱葱的河岸紧贴着雾气缭绕的陡峭悬崖，一个胖乎乎的裸体婴儿坐在金色小舟里，身下铺满粉白相间的花朵。一位身着白袍、头顶悬浮着发光星芒的带翼天使站在孩子身后，单手扶着船舵。天使与孩童都拥有苍白的肌肤和金色头发。婴儿双手高举鲜花目视前方，船头向右倾斜，正滑过如镜的河面。小舟似乎由黄金整体铸造或雕刻而成，实则由众多簇拥成船形的带翼天使构成。天使们集体伸臂朝向船头突出的单独天使——那犹如船首像的天使正高举沙漏。小舟刚从玫瑰粉色岩崖底部的幽暗洞穴驶出，那些锯齿状岩峰向左上画布边缘延伸，在远处渐变成淡粉色。葱郁的河岸沙嘴占据画面左下角，两岸点缀着白睡莲与繁茂的黄、蓝、粉、紫、红色野花。芹菜绿与苔藓绿的植被覆盖着洞口两侧的巨石，并蔓延至河岸以外的地面。随着视线退向地平线，植被渐变成紫灰色，这道位于画面三分之一处的分界线被金色霞光照亮。花瓣粉与灰色的云朵漂浮在悬崖顶端，映衬着淡蓝色天空。画家在左下角标注日期与签名："1842 T. Cole Rome"。

Near a verdant riverbank against soaring, hazy cliffs, a nude, chubby baby sits in a golden boat on a bed of pink and white flowers in this horizontal painting. A winged angel wearing a white robe with a glowing starburst hovering overhead stands behind the child with one hand resting on the tiller of the boat. The angel and child both have pale skin and blond hair. The baby holds up handfuls of flowers and looks forward. The bow of the boat is angled to our right as it glides along the glassy surface of the river. The boat seems to be made of or carved to look like a mass of gold, winged angels clustered to make the vessel. They reach toward a single angel thrust forward from the bow, like a masthead, who holds up an hourglass. The boat has just emerged from a dark cave at the base of rocky, rose-pink cliffs that reach off the top left edge of the canvas. The jagged peaks become pale pink as they march into the distance. A spit of the lush riverbank fills the lower left corner of the composition; it and the far bank are dotted with white waterlilies and a profusion of yellow, blue, pink, purple, and red flowers. Celery and moss-green growth carpets the boulders on either side the cave mouth and the ground stretching beyond the riverbank. The growth becomes mauve-purple as it recedes to the horizon, which comes a third of the way up the composition and is lit by a golden glow. Petal-pink and gray clouds float among the cliff-tops against an otherwise pale blue sky. The artist dated and signed the lower left, “1842 T. Cole Rome.”

科尔著名的四联组画描绘了一位典型英雄沿"生命之河"的史诗旅程。这位航行者自信地掌控着命运之舵，对前方险境浑然不觉，奋勇追逐着象征"青春"幻梦的空中城堡——那承载着荣耀与名望的渴望。就在他即将触达目标时，愈发汹涌的激流突然改道，无情地将他冲向系列下一幅画作：在那里，自然的暴怒、邪恶的恶魔与自我怀疑将威胁其生存。科尔暗示唯有祈祷，才能使航行者免于沉沦黑暗的悲剧命运。

从天真无邪的童年，到青春洋溢的盲目自信，历经中年的磨难考验，直至英雄终获救赎，《生命之旅》与基督教"死亡与复活"的教义存在着深刻共鸣。这位无畏的航行者亦可解读为美国的拟人化象征——彼时这个国家正处在躁动不安的青春期。艺术家或许正在向那些狂热追求"天定命运"的人们发出严厉警告：无节制的西进运动与工业化浪潮，终将给人类与自然带来灾难性后果。

Cole's renowned four-part series traces the journey of an archetypal hero along the "River 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.

From the innocence of childhood, to the flush of youthful overconfidence, through the trials and tribulations of middle age, to the hero's triumphant salvation,The Voyage of Lifeseems intrinsically linked to the Christian doctrine of death and resurrection. Cole's intrepid voyager also may be read as a personification of America, itself at an adolescent stage of development. The artist may have been issuing a dire warning to those caught up in the feverish quest for Manifest Destiny: that unbridled westward expansion and industrialization would have tragic consequences for both man and nature.