“Thomas Cole.” Thomas Cole – Biography. National Art Gallery, 2012. Web. 30 Dec. 2012. .This site gives me the biography of Thomas Cole. It gives me insight into why he choose to paint the paintings the way he did and his use of colors and other images. The article informed me that his ambition for the paintings was to create a “higher style of landscape” that could express moral or religious meanings. He studied abroad, in Europe to find muses for his paintings. Although he did travel to other countries, most of his paintings are inspired by Italy and Sicily. He studied abroad to become a better painter and to also learn how to develop a higher style of landscape.
“The Voyage of Life.” The Voyage of Life. National Art Gallery, 2012. Web. 30 Dec. 2012. .This site gives me an analysis of each of the paintings in a short summary. Instead of giving me a summary of each of the paintings, it gives me information on each one of them and the reason behind why Cole depicted it the way he did. The paintings represent a religious view on life. Cole suggests only prayer can save the young man from a dark a tragic fate shown in the painting. The article suggests that Cole’s intrepid voyager also may be read as a personification of America, itself at an adolescent stage of development and should be careful of expanding west and destroying land.
B, Jewel. “Painter Thomas Cole and His “Voyage of Life Series”” Web log post. Yahoo! Contributor Network. Yahoo, 3 Aug. 2007. Web. 30 Dec. 2012. This blog gives me a brief biography of Thomas Cole and his previous works before his “Voyage of Life” series. It then goes on to explain each picture and what is being shown. The author digs deep into the painting to reveal things that truly cause the viewer to think about. This blog gives me a whole new angle to look at the paintings from. With each painting the author discusses possible reasons why Thomas Cole would have painted it the way that he did. The blog discusses how the paintings deal with religion and a mans fate during the trials of his life.
Bertman, Sandra. “Voyage of Life.” What’s New. NYU School of Medicine, 24 Apr. 2002. Web. 30 Dec. 2012.This article briefly discusses how Thomas Cole viewed the paintings and his reasoning behind them. The article then goes on to describe how the author viewed the paintings, how he saw them, and his thought to the meaning behind each of the paintings. It gives a brief description of each of the paintings in the series and the author also gives me other sources within the article. The article also has many quotes from Thomas Cole himself describing what is happening in the scenes. With the quotes from Thomas Cole it allows me to see in the mind of him and what he meant when he painted the things in the painting.
“Explore Thomas Cole.” Explore Thomas Cole. National Historic Site, 2010. Web. 30 Dec. 2012. . This site allows me to have a full interactive tour of each painting. I am able to move my cursor over certain areas in each painting and it gives me a closer look at each of them and the meaning behind them. The site also allows me to compare the paintings to show the differences in colors and landscapes. Also, it gives me a essay of each photo from Thomas Cole to explain his reasoning behind the paintings and describe what is going on each. I can also the process that Thomas Cole took when he painted each of the paintings.