托马斯·科尔作品《生命之旅：青春》高清图片

作品简介

　　在这幅横向构图的画作中，一位青年乘着金色小舟启程。河流从画面右下角蜿蜒而出，穿过葱郁的 landscape(景观)，向远方延伸，最终消失在右侧两座岩岬之外。远处，一座荒芜的红色山脉嶙峋峰顶若隐若现，耸入几乎无云的碧空。画面左侧，一座半透明的白色宫殿悬浮于山峦之上，占据了构图左上象限的大部分空间。从山脚和宫殿延伸而出的丘陵与山谷间，树木星罗棋布，绿草如茵。

　　在前景右下角的河岸上，一棵高耸的棕榈树下，一位身着白袍、背生双翼、头顶光环的天使茕茕而立。天使肌肤白皙，金发垂落，一手正指向宫殿，或是指向附近河中的青年。那叶装饰华丽的小舟向左远离河岸，朝宫殿方向驶去。船首处，一个带翅膀的金色人像将沙粒流转的时计高举过头。青年肤色白皙，褐发及肩，身披红金相间的束腰外衣。河岸两侧繁花似锦，绿树成荫。

A young man sets out in a golden boat on a river that winds from the bottom right corner of this horizontal painting across a lush landscape and into the distance before disappearing beyond two rocky outcroppings far off to our right. Hazy in the distance, the jagged peaks of a barren red mountain rise into an almost cloudless blue sky. To our left, a semi-transparent, white palace looms above and beyond the mountain, filling most of the upper left quadrant of the composition. Hills and valleys leading from the mountain and palace are dotted with trees and carpeted with grass. A winged and haloed angel wearing a white robe stands on the bank of the river under a towering palm tree in the foreground, in the bottom right corner of the canvas. The angel has pale skin and long golden hair. One hand is lifted toward the palace or a young man in a boat in the river nearby. The small boat is angled away from the riverbank to our left and toward the palace. The boat is ornately decorated and at its bow, a winged, golden figure holds an hourglass aloft above her head. The young man has pale skin, shoulder-length brown hair, and he wears a red and gold tunic. A profusion of flowers and trees line the riverbank.

　　科尔著名的四部曲组画描绘了一位原型英雄沿"生命之河"的旅程。在《青春》篇章中，这位航行者自信满满地掌控命运之舟，对前方险境浑然不觉，勇敢地追逐着空中城堡——这象征着青春年华对荣耀与声名的白日梦。然而当旅人渐近目标时，愈发湍急的河流突然改道，无情地将他冲向组画下一幕：在那里，自然的狂暴、邪魔的侵扰与自我怀疑将威胁他的生存。科尔暗示，唯有祈祷方能拯救航行者免于沉沦黑暗的厄运。

　　从天真无邪的《童年》，到意气风发的《青春》，历经《壮年》的磨难考验，直至《老年》获得救赎——"生命之旅"系列与基督教"死而复生"的教义存在着本质关联。而科尔笔下无畏的航行者，亦可解读为处于青春发育期的美利坚民族的化身。艺术家或许正透过画布，向那些狂热追求"天定命运"的同胞发出严厉警告：无度的西进运动与工业化浪潮，终将为人类与自然带来悲剧性后果。

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.