Culture Night 2024
A chronological exploration of representations of children in Art with the Museum of Childhood Ireland, Músaem Óige na hÉireann.
This Culture Night offering will allow you to explore artworks from different periods, through descriptions, analysis and questions.
Resources for children and adults to create art with activities inspired by famous artworks or movements.
Duccio di Buoninsegna, Madonna and Child, 1290-1300
This painting was made by an Italian painter named Duccio di Buoninsegna, or just Duccio for short. Made around the year 1300, Madonna and Child has survived over seven hundred years!
This painting depicts Mother Mary and the baby Jesus Christ. Duccio wanted to make an emotional scene that viewers (like you!) could relate to. This would connect the world of the painting to the world of the viewer. We can see the baby gently pushing away his mother’s veil to see her face, while she looks down at him with a sorrowful expression. What do you think she is thinking about?
Unlike all the paintings we see in museums today, Madonna and Child was made to be hung on a wall in someone’s home and viewed by candlelight. If you look closely, you can see two burn marks at the bottom edge of the original frame; these are from the candles that would have been placed beneath it. Imagine how beautiful the gold leaf background might have looked in the flickering candlelight!
fig. 1. Duccio di Buoninsegna. Madonna and Child. 1290-1300
Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, c. 1501-1519
More than 200 years after Duccio painted his Madonna and Child, another Italian artist, Leonardo da Vinci, painted his own image of the mother and child. Compared to Duccio’s painting, there is a lot more action going on. Da Vinci has painted Mother Mary sitting on her own mother’s lap. The Baby Jesus plays beside his mother and grandmother. Look, he has a lamb by the ears! His mother reaches out to pull him near.
If you were standing in front of this painting, you might almost feel like this family was right in front of you! That is because da Vinci used a technique called perspective to make his painting look more real. Perspective is drawing or painting a picture so that it looks like there are three dimensions. It gives the illusion that some objects in the painting are further away than others. This makes a painting look more like how we see things in real life.
Da Vinci painted The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne during a period in time called the Renaissance which lasted from around 1400-1600. During this time, artists used techniques like perspective to make their paintings appear more real. They tried to replicate the natural look of light, movement, and the human body.
Can you imagine what will happen next in this scene?
fig. 2. Leonardo da Vinci. The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne. c. 1501-1519
John Closterman, The Children of John Taylor of Bifrons Park, 1696
An extravagant spectacle! Family portraits are often made to tell us something about a family. What do you think this painting is trying to tell you about this family?
This family portrait was painted in the Baroque style that was popular in the 1600s. In British society, portraits in the Baroque style were a way of expressing status. If your portrait was painted in this style, it showed you were an important and wealthy person.
Look at what this family is wearing. See how all the luxurious fabrics shine and glimmer in the light? While Baroque portraits were realistic in style, they also exaggerated reality to emphasise beauty and power.
fig. 3. John Closterman. The Children of John Taylor of Bifrons Park. 1696
Unknown, Children Blowing Bubbles, c. 1750
Have you ever had fun blowing bubbles?
An unknown artist painted this in the Rococo style. Rococo originated in France in the 1700s following the older Baroque artistic movement. Like the Baroque style, Rococo art was elaborate, theatrical, and loved all things fancy. But, unlike the seriousness of the Baroque, the Rococo style was young, light, and playful.
Take a look back at the Baroque painting from before. See how still and quiet the children look? In Children Blowing Bubbles, there is movement and excitement! The Rococo style was all about playfulness and lightness. While Baroque artists used rich, saturated colours, Rococo paintings like Children Blowing Bubbles used light, pastel colours. Do you notice how the mood of a painting can change depending on what colours an artist uses?
fig. 4. Unknown. Children Blowing Bubbles. c. 1750
Thomas Eakins, Baby at Play, 1876
Doesn’t it almost feel like you are right there with the little girl, watching her play? The artist, Thomas Eakins, painted this picture of his 2 year old neice. The painting almost looks like a photograph. That’s because the artist, Thomas Eakins, wanted to paint his subjects as they really were, not a perfected version of reality. This is called realism.
Try squinting your eyes while looking at this painting. Even without a sharp outline, light and dark shapes help us recognise the body of the baby!
This is because Eakins paid close attention to something called tone while paintng this picture. Tone is the lightness or darkness of a colour. It is often used to give the look of light and shadow, which helps our eyes recognise the three-dimensional shape of a person or object. Eakins used tone in this painting to make his neice look how she would if we were standing in front of her.
fig. 5. Thomas Eakins. Baby at
Play. 1876
Walter Frederick Osborne, In a Dublin Park, Light and Shade, 1895
With this painting, Walter Frederick Osborne wanted to make a record of what he saw in his own city of Dublin.
In art, composition is the way an artist chooses to arrange or combine the different parts of an artwork. For example, in this painting, Osborne arranged the four subjects of his painting to be justified to the right side of the picture. This arrangement cuts out the right side of the man furthest to the right, making it so that we do not see his full body. When you look back at the previous paintings discussed in this thread, do you notice a difference in the way Osborne has chosen to compose his work?
If you have a keen eye, you might notice that the composition of In a Dublin Park, Light and Shade mimics the look of a photograph taken spontaneously while on a walk in the park. Photography interested Osborne and he likely took some inspiration from the medium as he tried to paint his environment as he saw it through his own eyes.
fig. 6. Walter Frederick Osborne. In a Dublin Park, Light and Shade. 1895
Philip Wilson Steer, Girls Running, Walberswick Pier, 1888-94
This is a painting by a British artist named Philip Wilson Steer. You can feel the magic and excitement of a day at the seaside!
Unlike John Singer Sargent, Steer was not trying to paint an exact reflection of real life, but an ‘impression’ of what the people, light, and landscape looked like to him. This style was called impressionism.
Impressionist painters wanted to capture movement and life. Instead of painting in a studio, impressionists found they could paint a single moment in time by working quickly, in front of their subjects, in the open air. Perfection was not the goal; they used fast, thick, and messy brush strokes to capture movement and light.
Can you see the sunlight sparkling off the sea in Steer’s painting? What about the rich warmth of the afternoon sunlight?
fig. 7. Philip Wilson Steer. Girls Running, Walberswick Pier. 1888-94
Henri Matisse, Interior with a Young Girl (Girl Reading), 1905-06
This is a painting by a French artist named Henri Matisse. In this painting, Matisse used his daughter Marguerite as a model. You can see her sitting quietly, absorbed in a book. Around her, though, we see an exciting explosion of colour!
Matisse’s painting is an example of Fauvism. The name came from the French word ‘fauve’ meaning ‘wild beast’. And wild this painting is! Look at all the bold colours and loose brushstrokes.
Like impressionists, fauvists often painted subjects from their surroundings. But instead of trying to replicate the light and colours of the natural landscape, fauvists used vibrant, unnatural colours to bring their paintings to life. Like in this painting! Matisse has used colours like dark green and bright yellow to represent shadow and light.
Fauvists also thought hard about what colours would look best next to each other. In this painting, Matisse used complimentary colours like red and green to make the image pop and buzz with energy.
fig. 8. Henri Matisse. Interior with a Young Girl (Girl Reading). 1905-06
Maria Franck-Marc, Girl with Toddler, c. 1913
Have you ever played pretend? In this painting, a young girl is pretending to be a mother, lovingly cradling a happy toddler in her arms. Around her, there is a dreamy burst of giant, colourful flowers.
Instead of representing reality, the artist, Maria Franck-Marc, wanted to paint an emotion. This is called expressionism.
Expressionist artists distort or exaggerate reality to communicate a feeling. Franck-Marc wanted to express what it feels like when we drift off into our own imagination. Let’s take another look at Girl with Toddler. Look at the huge, over-sized flowers! They arch over the little girl and boy and give a feeling that they are hidden and protected in their own special world. Don’t you feel like that sometimes when you play pretend?
fig. 9. Maria Franck-Marc. Girl with Toddler. c. 1913
Jack B. Yeats, Above the Fair, 1946
What a load of paint! At first, Above the Fair might look a bit confusing. But you might find that the longer you look at the picture, the more your eye begins to understand the visual world of the painting.
Look at the left side of the painting. Do you see the little boy riding the big white horse, perched above the crowd? The Irish artist Jack B. Yeats wanted to paint his memories of his childhood experiences in Sligo. This work is done in an expressive manner. Like in Maria Franck-Marc’s painting, Yeats distorted and exaggerated reality to communicate feeling. He used broad, fluid brushstrokes that help to convey the energy, buzz, and hub-bub of a day at the fair.
fig. 10. Jack B. Yeats. Above the Fair. 1946
Leonora Carrington, And Then We Saw the Daughter of the Minotaur, 1953
Have you ever dreamt of strange worlds and magical creatures?
And Then We Saw the Daughter of the Minotaur is a painting by a Surrealist artist named Leonora Carrington. The word ‘surrealist’ means beyond reality. Surrealist artists are interested in wild fantasies and the hidden thoughts, like those that we have when we’re dreaming. Like dreams, lots of Surrealist art combines things you wouldn’t normally see together; looking at it can get our minds thinking outside of the box.
Why don’t you let your eyes wander around this painting. Can you start to piece together a story?
Everyone might see something different, but the thing is, there are no wrong answers!
fig. 11. Leonora Carrington. And Then We Saw the Daughter of the Minotaur. 1953
Make your own art!
Exquisite Corpse – a Surrealist Drawing Game
Surrealism was an art movement that began in the 1920s and was inspired by dreams and hidden thoughts. Surrealist artists made up games like this one to help encourage their minds to think outside of the box.
You need: paper, coloured pencils or markers
Instructions:
- Fold a piece of paper into as many sections as you have players. Then, decide who will go first.
- In the top section, the first player will draw a head and neck. Once finished, the first player folds the paper so the drawn section is hidden. Tip: add small connecting lines to the next section so that the next player knows where to begin drawing.
- The second person draws the upper body, then folds their section so it is hidden, too.
- The third person draws the legs and feet. If you are playing with four people, the third player can draw the legs and the fourth player can draw the feet.
- Once finished, unfold the paper to reveal your Exquisite Corpse!
Perspective – Seagull vision
This is a painting by the Irish artist James Dixon who lived on Tory Island. Dixon was a self-taught painter who had a unique way of imagining perspective. Perspective is the way things are seen from a particular point of view.
Many of his paintings look as if they are seen through the eye of someone flying over Tory Island. Like through the eyes of a seagull!
Sometimes, artists try to paint or draw what the world looks like from the perspective of different people, animals, or even objects! This is a fun creative exercise that helps get your brain to think about the world in new ways. Why don’t you try it?
You need: paper, pencils, pens, crayons and/or paint
Instructions:
- Choose whose perspective you will be drawing from. Maybe you want to draw from the perspective of a tiger in the zoo. Or, from the perspective of your pet hamster! Get creative.
- Draw! Paint! Use whatever medium you like best.
- Did you have fun? See what other kinds of perspectives you can imagine. The possibilities are endless.
Cut-Outs – “Drawing with Scissors”
The artist Henri Matisse liked to work with bright colour in his artworks. He used a variety of materials in his work, including paint, charcoal, and bronze for sculptures. When he got older, he began to use brightly coloured paper to ‘paint with scissors’. He cut out different shapes, animals, leaves, and flowers and arranged them on paper to make vibrant pictures full of life. He called this medium ‘cut-out’.
You need: coloured paper, scissors, glue, pencil
Instructions:
- Use your scissors to cut out shapes from the coloured paper. They can be whatever shapes you want: spiky like a cactus, wavy like the ocean, round like ball… let your imagination run wild! If you are having trouble thinking of ideas, maybe try looking around you for inspiration.
- When you have made your pile of colourful shapes, grab a large sheet of coloured paper and start composing your picture. Arrange the shapes however you want. They can be touching or apart. Maybe you might even have them overlap to make a new shape. Take your time and see what happens! If you want, you can mark where you are planning to glue your shapes with a pencil.
- Once you are happy with the picture, you can stick your paper shapes down. And voilà! You’ve made a cut-out picture like Matisse!
Abstract Expressionist Watercolour
This is an abstract expressionist painting by Alice Baber. Abstract expressionism is a combination of two things.
The first is abstraction. This is the act of creating something that does not attempt to represent reality as it is, but instead uses shapes, colours, and forms to achieve its effect. The second part is expressionism. This is art in which the image of reality is distorted in order to make it expressive of the artist’s inner feelings or ideas.
Alice Baber used watercolour to create different colourful shapes or forms that expressed different emotions. When you look at this painting, what kind of feeling or idea do you think the artist was trying to express?
You need: paper, water cup, brush, watercolours, towel
Instructions:
- Wet your brush in the cup of water. Lightly dab your brush on a towel to remove excess water. Generally, the more water on your brush the more translucent your colour will be when you put it on the paper.
- Move your brush to the watercolour palette and rub your wet brush on the colour you wish to use. The more you rub, the more paint you will collect on the brush.
- Channel your feelings into your art and paint away! You can play some music if you want to get the juices flowing. Perfection is not the goal, so let your mind wander. You might surprise yourself with the final result!
Continuous line drawing portraits
A continuous line drawing is like taking your pen for a walk on paper. The goal is to not lift your pen or pencil off your paper the whole time you are drawing.
In this exercise, you will be drawing a portrait with one continuous line.
You need: paper, pen or pencil
Instructions:
- Choose your reference. This is what you will be drawing. Ask a friend family member to pose for you, or sit in front of a mirror and draw yourself!
- Decide where to start your drawing and place the tip of your pen on the paper. Do not lift it off the paper until you are finished drawing!
- Start drawing. As you move your hand, move your eyes back and forth between the page and your reference. This helps you check where your pen should be travelling next.
- Once you’ve finished your drawing, lift your pen from the page. You’ve created a portrait!
Got the hang of it? Try drawing other things around you– cars, flowers, pets– without lifting your pen or pencil from the page.
For an extra fun challenge, try making a continuous line drawing without looking down at your paper. You might be surprised at the results!
Colour Walk
Going on a colour walk is a fun way to help yourself notice unusual objects and the colours of the world around you. A colour walk is when you try to look for all the colours of the rainbow.
In this exercise, you will try to find every colour of the rainbow, one by one. After your walk, you can draw a colourful picture of some of the things you saw all together!
You need: an adult to go with you, somewhere to walk (inside or outside), a camera, paper, coloured pencils or pens
Instructions:
- Start walking. Look for each colour of the rainbow, one by one. You can start with any colour you want! You might want to use a camera to take pictures or write down what you find so you can remember it for later.
- What do you notice about the different things you find? How do different colours make you feel? What colour is your favourite? Sometimes we look at things without really thinking about what colour they are.
- When you’re done, think back to what you found. Take a piece of paper and start drawing! Do you want to draw a kind of still life? Or maybe you can make a map of your walk and add colourful drawings of the things you saw.
With thanks to Geneva Wilson