Thomas Cole is considered the founder of the Hudson River School. His detailed landscape paintings make him at the same time one of the most important representatives of the artist grouping. The artist, who was born in England, gained his first artistic experience with the production of wooden printing blocks. The Cole family emigrated to America, where Thomas worked in the family owned wallpaper factory.
Cole learned to paint with oil paints, but his first attempts at popular portraiture were unsuccessful. Instead, Thomas Cole focused on depicting landscapes. Satisfied with the result, the painter spent his free time in nature and studied the landscapes of his surroundings. But the naturalistic picture was not enough for the artist. Deeply religious, he saw the connection between nature and religion, which he expressed in his works as well as historical events. He enjoyed the original nature and undertook study trips along the Hudson River. "Our society seeks only to accomplish something instead of enjoying something ..." he stated critically. He proclaimed the important influence of the imagination and the artistic freedom to complete works with symbolism and own impressions.
Cole created the cycle The Voyage of Life with its interpretation of childhood, youth, manhood and old age. The biblical garden blossoms in the pair of pictures The garden of Eden and The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
© Meisterdrucke