A Child’s-Eye View of Art
The more I explore Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy, the more I am enthralled.* Nevertheless, I am not above gleaning from the teaching methods of others—among them, Maria Montessori.** One such valuable suggestion was the reminder of a child’s eye level; it’s easy to forget when you’re “all grown up” yourself. Even at a mere 5’ 2”, I am way up there, as far as Littlest Brother is concerned. This perception was vividly brought to our attention when Littlest Brother filled our camera with photographs of various persons’ legs and torsos. We chuckled a lot at his portraits, but it was actually a great reminder for us to get at his eye level when conversing with him.
It’s also a good reminder that young children cannot very well see the artwork we hang high up on the walls. I tried it; all one can see up close is a ridge jutting out of the wall; from far away, the details that universally fascinate children are indiscernible.
Once your child is mature enough not to try knocking the frames from the wall, why not hang fine artwork where he can see it? Hang them up in his play corner, his bedroom, his study area.
Art that excites the mind with high drama, vibrant colors, and dynamic forms...
Crack the Whip, Winslow Homer
Dawn Chase, Montague Dawson
La Parade, Georges Seurat
Likewise, paintings that inspire quiet, interested contemplation...
Bouquet of Sunflowers, Claude Monet
The Bedroom at Arles, Vincent Van Gogh
Carnation Lily, Lily Rose, John Singer Sargent
Girl Picking Bluebonnets, Julian Onderdonk
Young Mother Sewing, Mary Cassat
almost anything by Johannes Vermeer
Now I am looking for half a dozen matching wood frames.*** That number should be sufficient, I think. The prints can be changed or rotated according to the season, as well as the child’s age and interest. If you are doing an artist study à la Charlotte Mason, it is also an excellent way to expose your child throughout the day to the artist’s best works.
What artwork do you believe to have special appeal to young children? How do you plan to cultivate in your children an appreciation for fine art?
*I have recently spending a lot of time at the Simply Charlotte Mason site reading articles, printing articles, adding to my wish list, making interlibrary loan requests, and trying to figure out how to earn fifty dollar quickly. ;) It’s also time to pull out Charlotte Mason’s original volumes from where they’ve been languishing in my hope-chest several months. When I have time...!
**Montessori is actually a very generic term and can be applied to a wide variety of philosophies and practical applications. Broadly speaking, a Montessori education is based on the supposition that children have an inner natural guidance for their own perfect self-directed development. The teacher’s role is to watch over the children’s environment in order to ensure that nothing interferes with this natural development. Besides the unBiblical basis of this method, I find the carefully prepared and controlled environment very artificial. Nevertheless, a few of the practical principles, such as multi-age grouping, are based on good common sense. As Charlotte Mason herself wrote, “...Because philosophic thought is so subtle and permeating an influence, it is our part to scrutinize every principle that presents itself. Once we are able to safeguard ourselves in this way, we are able to profit by the wisdom of works which yet rest upon what we regard as radical errors.”
***Do you realize how difficult it is to find wood frames that aren’t actually an insult of veneer? I’d rather paste the prints directly on the wall! (That’s the William Morris crank evident in me.)