New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-08-23
PICTURE WRITING.
When Drascing Is Language 20
Little Folk.

Drawing is a form of language Win youiiS
children Just the same as speech very -.
children draw as naturally as they taIh' anu 80.
began to draw a about the same time as ny
begin TO talk. They draw incorrectly JUST % -
talk incorrectly; but being surrounded VIZ -
nile all of whom talk better than they al ciliui
learn TO talk and talk all their hVes. IL" -.
among whom they live, however, 90 no'
Therefore children abandon the use OF oIaMi,1e o.
language They do this at twelve or tnir'een
- 20 oa. ,rben they begin to have sense enough
20 sea FOR themselves that their drawing is MOI
good; that It does not express their Ihousn
represent the things around thenl- II nioS -
dren became dumb at twelve, we sno"iN
least notice 1t; most American chloleh 20. =.
artistically dumb at this per'oo' anu W"
as a natural law
These are some of the conclusions OF ffoiessO'
Earl Barnes given in the volume on az
ton in the United States which was 'ahel o'o1
70 the international congress Of drawing teachers
In London early in August by Dr j. Z i.''
7,rac-or of drawing in the New York public SCHOOLS
In the chanter on Child Study and Art houca-
ton" Professor Barnes sums up lhe fesui17 Va
thousands of studies OF little children In rela'ioi
to drawing These studies have been mace Dy iiieil
end women il, many countries Miss MARY Drury'
q Io,Sor for instance made extended studies 10
find ont what children think is pretty MISS AeNa
Partridge spent a long time hnolns OUT NJ" cAAi
dren draw men and women MIS- Louise 1iai'
no-in,ented to find out what children like to
draw w
the facts thus collected Professor Barnes ora"
e. aboya conclusion that drawing is q language
IN Young children, which they wouio coh'ii!ue
through life if the adults around them useo 'iiS
language as they do speech. 'Ihe TACT as NV
over" the professor declares, that most adults
never become more than seven or eight years oiu
a., +h.ir mower TO draw and they seldom draw at
all In such an atmosphere Of general arrest 'ile
child will only go on if he is encouraged 10 10 So
The childish trick of drawing not what Is SEEM
but what is in the mind proves. according 10 ITO
lessor Barnes that children regard drawing as
I,.,,soa and not as d source of aesthetic pleasure
For instance the experiment was tried OF placing
an apple with hatpin stuck through II Deiore
children to draw. At the age OF SIX ~ per CENT
drew the apple with the pin showing all the way
through and not until the age of nine ola ma
ioritv have the pin Ctop at the edge OF the apple
7bex knew the pin was there, and drew 1t, regard
less of the fact that they could not see IT. In
the same way man on horseback VIII nave pot,i
legs showing Why not? The child hho"s Do'h
legs are there He is not going to leave one cut
ne will draw a woman then put on her clothes
one garment after another, then pocket, purse
IN the pocket and a penny in the purse Inc purse
in his mind has penny in it, ana IL goes uo"".
He is telling with his pencil that the penny rs Al
the wonnan's pocket. He is supremely connoeht al
this period and has no more hesl'aloiA iAA o-e
q man than a straight line
Mrs Maitland found that at the age OF seven
children had conception Of the @s'neuc As
apart from pleasurable feelings Ihey "ouio 10
My with delicious frankness that a canoy stofo
was the prettiest thing they ever saw Al 'he age
of thirteen 20 per cent OF the children questioned
made their choice of pretty things purely Rs-
.hetic grounds When told to select the prettiest
thing from a number Of objects 6S per cent OF tho
little children chose objects made by man. hhe
TOYS as against natural objects, like flowers
From the age Of six 10 ten the childs drawing
changes and becomes narrative. Instead Of simply
renresent!ng unconnected objects, cataloguing
them as il were he tells a story with his pencil
His boys are merely boys. They are boys
playing ball boys going to school This stage
OF the child's art is named picture writing The
child has no sense of perspective. He takes no
account of the thing 1t looks His drawing is
very bad but he draws boldly and firmly. He IS
afraid of nothing. He attacks the most st<endous
difficulties with cheerful confidence. and through
out his work there is an atmosphere of enjoyment
which is very attractive.
From nine ten to fourteen or f1fteen profound
changes taking place in both mind and body.
Childhood is changing to youth. Manual skill can
be gained then far more easily than at any later
period. II accurate and skful of the pencil
is not gained then, IL seldom will be in later life
Almost great painters and sculptors began their
work at twelve or thirteen Michael Angelo was
apprenticed TO the painters trade when he was
thirteen, Rembrandt when he fourteen.
At age of thirteen school children first excuse
themselves from drawing on the ground that they
ance Their critical faculty has suddenly appeared
They have emerged into the cold world of the
grown-up, and the picture language of childhood
is left behind.
Professor Barnes smiles gently at some of the
theories of nursery environment There be
little direct appeal under years of age, he
says. Elaboration of color in paythings is wasted.
All those delicately tinted walls and gorgeous poster
papers which enthusiasts prepare for him never
noticed ''Donatello's Singing Boys which adorns
rba IN of Is mn I
interest patrons" Professor Barnes says. The baby
will notice sunshine, however, and his mother S
dress especially II it is white.
He gives an interesting account of a series of
wall pictures for nursery decoration brought out
a few years ago by London company. white
hen followed procession of active yellow chickens
across a dark green background of black
and white and yellow puppies chased self-suffi-
Gent in the same colors. Children were
filed with delight them. Students Of childhood
stood amazed Here was artist who at one
stroke had embodied the results of their years of
study The subjects right. the activities were
right size and arrangement were right and the
colors were perfect. Dull green, the last color
perceived by children, perfect for the back
ground The striking white and yellow of the fore
ground just the cOlors that impress them
most strongly. The life of puppies and chickens
represented was honest hatural. funny, simple and
uncomplicated Inquiry made, and it was
found that artist, far from accomplishing these
things by stroke OF genius, had worked them
carefully out with groups of children using abso-
lutely nothing except what the children liked and
laughed at Then came the limitations. superficial
and ignorant. Fantastic frogs and languishing
dansels' were substituted for the happy honest
hens and puppies For the dynamic quality of
the original was substituted" says Professor
Barnes "a lot Of passive lay figures. Nowhere
could one find better illustration of the danger
NJ providing art products for children without
consulting those who judge and enjoy them. -
THE POPE AS A NEWSPAPER READER.
Pope Plus IS a firm believer in newspaper reading.
Vent