Template:POTD/2020-03-27
Manhood is the third in a series of allegorical oil-on-canvas paintings by American artist Thomas Cole, entitled The Voyage of Life, which represent man's journey through life. In the painting, a now mature man has moved on from the innocence of infancy (Childhood) and the flush of juvenile overconfidence (Youth), to the trials and tribulations of middle age. He glides in his boat among dark, towering crags and gnarled trees, towards turbulent water with projecting rocks. The day is stormy and an angel watches through a rent in the clouds as he prays, his vessel moving ever closer to destruction. This painting, along with the other three in the series, was painted in 1842 and is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.Painting credit: Thomas Cole