Children in paintings by famous artists are proof of the scale of talent, the ability to penetrate the child’s momentary emotional state and express it on canvas. The task is difficult, because the mood of a small person can change every second: one moment he is happy with the ringing bounces of the ball, and almost immediately – a shadow of resentment creeps across his face when it rolls into the bushes. And try to persuade a fidget to pose for another hour when summer is raging outside the window, and tree branches are knocking on the window, calling for an immediate departure into the unknown! So we owe the opportunity to admire the wonderful images of children in paintings not only to the talent, but also to the patience of famous artists.

Children’s portraits in the tradition of European painting

Children’s portraits by famous European artists in their natural, living form began to appear in the 17th century: before that, the theme was embodied only in the images of angels and the baby Jesus; in the Renaissance, group family portraits in monumental fresco paintings prevailed. One of the works of the period that went beyond idealization belongs to Pierre Mignard: he depicted the daughter of King Louis XIV indulging in a simple children’s game – blowing soap bubbles.

Children in paintings created by artists of the 19th century already look different: warmer, more spontaneous, more ingenuous. Art recognizes the significance of the phenomenon of childhood; a child begins to be valued simply for being a child, and not a candidate for future adults.

By this period, the genre of children’s portraiture had reached its peak: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, and Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot paid tribute to it.

The World of a Child as Interpreted by Russian Painters

In Russian fine art, the genre began to develop closer to the 18th century, and it has come a long way: from costumed portraits of children of royal families to depictions of the complex inner world of a child.

Many exciting and textbook images of children were born under the influence of the strongest feeling – parental love: Ilya Repin, Vasily Tropinin, Ivan Kramskoy, Alexey Venetsianov, Boris Kustodiev, and Viktor Vasnetsov captured their own sons and daughters on canvas.

Children of the Digital Age

The theme of childhood will never cease to excite creators. But the age of new technologies dictates other approaches: a computer and a tablet are becoming as familiar tools for an artist as an easel, a set of brushes, a pencil. American Richard Ramsey combines digital painting and photography in his works. The main characters of the portraits are boys and girls.

The works of Ramsey’s compatriot Steven Christopher Seward look almost as realistic as photographs, but the author does not use any gadgets in his work. On the contrary, he, like his long-time predecessors, makes his own oil paints. He and his colleague share a favorite theme – the fragile, vibrant world of a child, colored with romantic colors.