A disconcerting picture

Portrait of a Young Boy Holding a Child's Drawing by Giovanni Francesco Caroto painted circa 1515

The National Gallery in London had an exhibition a year or so ago, Renaissance Faces. In reading a review of the show I came across this quite startling painting, Portrait of a Young Boy Holding a Child's Drawing by Giovanni Francesco Caroto painted circa 1515.

I find it startling for three reasons. Most arrestingly is the simple expression of manic mischievousness on the boy's face. A little hard to decipher.

The second reason is the context. Children were still in this period of history regarded as smaller versions of adults and were often painted as such. There was no particular accord granted to their differences. This is one of the earliest paintings I have seen which looks as if the artist was attempting to capture an expression characteristic of, if not unique to, children.

But what really grabs me is the drawing which the child is holding. Walk into any kindergarten across the country today and you will see this picture or something very proximate to it tacked up on the wall. Across half a millennia, between two continents, across almost inconceivable changes in social structure, national culture, etc., this picture cries out the fundamental sameness of children, their delights, the changes they go through and the skills they acquire. I find it fascinating.