Pictures that children drew. Children in paintings by famous artists

Not every artist decides to paint a child’s portrait; images of children on canvases appeared quite late. Of course, earlier painters tried to depict children, but they looked more like miniature copies adults, but childish spontaneity, character traits, movements, and gestures are quite difficult to convey.

It’s very nice to look at such paintings, but it’s difficult to paint children, because it’s very difficult to get a child to pose for an artist for several hours. However, famous artists succeeded perfectly in this, and we will talk about their paintings.

Pierre Auguste Renoir left a lot of legacy, among his paintings there are many images of children. Children peering into the pages of books or a child leaning against the side of his mother - everything is depicted so truthfully and beautifully that it is simply impossible to resist.

It is impossible not to mention the artists who painted children's portraits. It took Western European masters several centuries to perfect the spiritual sphere child portrait, Russian artists have achieved amazing results at an accelerated pace. Children's images in painting are filled with amazing light, they are touching and gentle. Portrait of Stroganov by Jean Baptiste Greuze, Mika Morozov and Children, painted by the Russian painter Serov, Head of a Boy, painted by Tropinin, Kharlamov “Head of a Girl” and others.

Diego Velazquez is also very bright representative golden age spanish painting. He is known, first of all, for his portraits, including those of children, as well as genre compositions. As a court artist, he painted portraits of kings, their courtiers, and family members. Special attention Portraits of the infantes deserve this section: costumes of that era, soft outlines of faces, still childishly angular, a wonderful combination of shades.

Remembering paintings in which small children are present, let's turn to the image of the Madonna and Child. Among the most striking masterpieces, the painting by Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael stands out. The images created by the brush of these masters are familiar to the whole world.

Many foreign artists depicted children, creating a special composition. It seems to be a child and the main thing actor, and at the same time is a participant in the ongoing action. A striking example of this is the painting “The Spoiled Child” by Jean Baptiste Greuze. Among observers, she evokes the most contradictory emotions: both sympathy for the nanny and indignation towards the child. “He would like a good belt,” many will say, but to this day spoiled offspring are found in many families, so it can be argued that the artist sought to depict social problems society.

Completely opposite sensations from Chardin’s painting “Prayer Before Dinner”. A mother serving food to the table, the spiritual faces of two daughters saying a prayer before a meal - it would seem that the characters are the same, a woman and a child, but how the atmosphere changes!

"Girl on the Ball" - famous painting Picasso, flexible and graceful figurine the child balances on an unstable ball, and the strongman watches the staging of the act. It would seem a simple plot, but nevertheless, this picture is known to connoisseurs from different countries peace.

Let's not forget about Russian painters whose canvases feature children. First of all, “The Rider” by Bryullov. Certainly, central place the painting focuses on the beauty of horses - only Bryullov could depict these animals so subtly and subtly. But take a closer look: near the fence, a girl in a pink dress is watching her mother with an enthusiastic look. Cute dark curls, big brown eyes sparkling with excitement, chiseled lips - this girl is a real beauty from an aristocratic family!

Plastov’s “First Snow” presents to our eyes a different picture: a wretched log hut, rickety steps, a dirty yard - and a clean white snow falls from the sky. Children living in poverty rarely see anything sparkling clean, perhaps that is why they are so happy about the first snow.

Aching pity and melancholy overcomes the heart and when looking at the painting “Troika” by Perov, the artisan’s students, who are at most 10 years old, are carrying a heavy frozen barrel of water. Fatigue and despair are clearly visible on their faces and simply cannot touch the hearts of casual viewers.

A slight sadness also arises when looking at Vasnetsov’s painting “Alyonushka”. There's probably no need to tell everyone famous fairy tale, everyone understands who the elder sister is yearning for, sitting on a large stone and looking into the muddy water of the pond.

Children letting in bubble Ivanov’s brushes and Kustodiev’s Baby Bathing are a vivid example of childish carelessness that touches and evokes smiles. Morozov's rural free school is another retrospective, but on the faces of the children you can read all the emotions: from interest to outright boredom.

“The Birdcatcher” by Perov, “They Didn’t Expect” by Repin, “Children Running from a Thunderstorm” by Makovsky - this vivid examples how different ways you can fit the images of children into the overall composition.

Expanding the theme of depicting children in paintings famous artists, it is worth remembering V. Serov’s painting “Girl with Peaches”. The canvas is made in delicate pastel colors and perfectly emphasizes the fragility and tenderness of youth. This is one of the artist's best and most memorable paintings.

Soviet realism is depicted in the painting “Deuce Again.” The canvas depicts a family welcoming their son home from school. A girl in a pioneer tie and a tired mother looks reproachfully at her unlucky son and brother, younger son does not yet understand what is going on, and it seems that only the dog is happy that its little master has returned from school. Life picture, which probably happened in the lives of many people when they were children.

And finally, one of the most positive and kind contemporary artists- American Donald Zolan. Only a person who sincerely loves and understands children can create such miracles. Dreaminess and mischief, sadness and spontaneity - the children in Zolan’s paintings are different, but they all remind us that childhood is really happy time, awakening amazing memories in adults.

Horsewoman, 1832

"Girl Picking Grapes" 1827

"Portrait of Countess Yulia Samoilova with her adopted daughter"

"The Death of Inessa de Castro" 1834

Portrait of M. A. Beck with her daughter, 1840

Erminia with the shepherds

Portrait of the Volkonsky children with a blackamoor, 1843

Portrait of Countess Yulia Pavlovna Samoilova with her pupil and blackamoor, 1832-1834

Portrait of Countess O.I. Orlova-Davydova with her daughter, 1834

Portrait of Teresa Michele Tittoni with her sons, 1850-1852

Venetsianov Alexey Gavrilovich- Russian painter Greek origin, one of the founders everyday genre in Russian painting.
From merchant family Tver lips. Born in Moscow on February 7, 1780.
Having served as an official in his youth, he was forced to study art largely on his own, copying paintings from the Hermitage. In 1807-1811 took painting lessons from V. L. Borovikovsky.
Considered the founder of Russian printed caricature. During Patriotic War In 1812, together with I. I. Terebenev, he created a series of propaganda and satirical pictures on the theme of popular resistance to the French occupiers.
Since 1811 Venetsianov has been an honorary member of the Academy of Arts.
Having retired in 1819, Venetsianov A.G. settled in the village. Safonovka, Vyshnevolotsky district, Tver province, where he began to write genre paintings from rural life of an idyllic nature.
Founded in his village art school, in which over 70 painters received training. Venetsianov, together with V. A. Zhukovsky and K. P. Bryullov, contributed to the release of T. G. Shevchenko from serfdom. ()

Zakharka, 1825

These are the ones dad's lunch, 1824

Portrait of A. A. Venetsianova, the artist’s daughter, 1825-1826

Sleeping Shepherd, 1823-182

Peasant children in the field, 1820s.

Portrait of Nastenka Khavskaya, 1826

Peasant boy putting on sandals, 1820s.

Kiprensky Orest Adamovich- Russian artist, painter and graphic artist, master portrait painting.
Born on March 13 (24), 1782 on the Nezhinskaya manor (now Leningrad region). Presumably there was illegitimate son landowner A.S. Dyakonova. A year after his birth, his mother, a serf peasant woman, was married to the serf Adam Schwalbe. The surname Kiprensky was made up.
When the boy was six years old, Dyakonov gave him his freedom and sent him to an educational school at St. Petersburg Academy arts
Nine years later, Kiprensky was accepted into the class historical painting, which at that time was considered the highest genre visual arts.
In 1805, O. A. Kiprensky sums up his studies at the academy with the painting “Dmitry Donskoy on the Victory over Mamai,” for which he receives a Big Gold Medal and the right to travel abroad. However, due to the military actions of Napoleon's armies, this voyage had to be postponed.
After graduating from the Academy, portraiture became the main focus of the artist’s work. O. A. Kiprensky was one of the first in Russia to begin developing a portrait composition in which the social and class prestige of the model was finally replaced by interest in the person’s personality, recognition of his self-worth. In fact, he is one of the creators romantic style in Russian painting.
Kiprensky lives in Moscow (1809), Tver (1811), St. Petersburg (since 1812).
During this period the most famous works in his work are: portraits of a boy A. A. Chelishchev (1810-1811), E.D. Davydov (1809), E.P. Rostopchina (1809), P.A. Olenin (1813), spouses V. S. Khvostov and D. N. Khvostova (1814) and V. A. Zhukovsky (1816), etc.
In 1816, O. A. Kiprensky went abroad. The Italian business trip turned out to be fruitful for the painter. He was inundated with orders. Having appreciated the skill of the Russian artist, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence ordered him a self-portrait (1820).
TO best works This period includes the painting “The Italian Gardener” (1817), portraits of A.M. Golitsyn (around 1819) and E.S. Avdulina (around 1822), etc.
It is necessary to mention the “Portrait of Mariucci”, which played a significant role in the artist’s fate. The model for him was the charming girl Mariuccie Falkucci. Her mother did not have a decent lifestyle. Kiprensky, leaving Italy, bought Mariuccia from her dissolute mother and placed her in a monastery boarding school.
Russia greeted the artist unfriendly. However, in 1824, after another public exhibition at the Academy of Arts, where Kiprensky showed his works, his reputation was restored.
In 1827 the artist writes famous portrait A.S. Pushkin. “I see myself as in a mirror, But this mirror flatters me...”, wrote famous poet in a thank you message.
In 1828, O. A. Kiprensky again left for Rome, where he married his former pupil Mariuccia. To get married, he secretly had to convert to Catholicism. However family life did not bring happiness to the artist. He didn't create anything significant anymore.
On October 17, 1836, Orest Adamovich Kiprensky died in Rome from pneumonia and was buried there in the Church of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte. His daughter Clotilde was born after his death.

Girl in a poppy wreath with a carnation in her hand (Mariuccia)

Neapolitan fisher boys

Neapolitan girl with fruits

Portrait of Avdotya Ivanovna Molchanova with her daughter Elizaveta, 1814

Mother with child (Portrait of Madame Pres?)

Portrait of A.A. Chelishcheva, 1808 - early 1809

<Tropinin Vasily Andreevich- Russian artist, academician, representative of romanticism in Russian fine arts, master of portraiture.
Born in the village of Karpovka (Novgorod province) on March 19 (30), 1776 in the family of serfs of Count A. S. Minikh; Later he was sent to the disposal of Count I.I. Morkov as a dowry for Minich’s daughter.
Tropinin V. A. Showed his ability to draw as a boy, but his master sent him to St. Petersburg to study as a pastry chef. He attended classes at the Academy of Arts, first on the sly, and from 1799 - with the permission of Morkov; During my studies I met O. A. Kiprensky.
In 1804, the owner summoned the young artist to his place, and from then on he alternately lived in Ukraine, on the new carrot estate of Kukavka, and then in Moscow, as a serf painter.
In 1823 Tropinin V.A. received his freedom and the title of academician, but, abandoning his career in St. Petersburg, he remained in Moscow. ()

Boy with a hatchet, 1810s

Portrait of Arseny Vasilievich Tropinin, Circa 1818

Portrait of a boy, 1820s

Portrait of V.I. Ershova with her daughter, 1831

Boy with a pity

Portrait of Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich Obolensky (?) as a child, circa 1812

Boy with a Goldfinch, 1825

Girl with a doll, 1841

Boy with a Dead Goldfinch, 1829

Portrait of Dmitry Petrovich Voikov with his daughter Varvara Dmitrievna and the Englishwoman Miss Forty, 1842

<Makovsky Konstantin Egorovich(20.06 (2.07).1839 - 17 (30).09.1915), Russian artist, full member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1898).
Born in Moscow, in the family of one of the organizers of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, E. I. Makovsky. The elder brother of the artist Vladimir Makovsky.
He studied at the MUZHVZ (1851-58) with S. K. Zaryanko and at the Academy of Arts (from 1858).
One of the participants in the “revolt of the fourteen” (Kramskoy, Korzukhin, Lemokh, Venig, Grigoriev, etc.), Konstantin Makovsky left the Academy of Arts in 1863, becoming one of the members of the Artel of Artists, and then became a member of the Association of Itinerants (see artists Itinerants).
The work of Konstantin Makovsky can be divided into two stages. In the 1860s - early 1870s, under the influence of Peredvizhniki ideas, he turned to subjects from folk life ("The Herring Girl" 1867, "Booths on Admiralty Square" 1869, both paintings in the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, " Little organ grinders at the fence in winter" 1868, private collection).
A turning point in the artist’s work can be considered a trip to Egypt and Serbia (mid-1870s). After this event, Makovsky began to lean more and more towards academicism ("The Return of the Sacred Carpet from Mecca to Cairo", 1876, Russian Museum).
In 1883, the final break with the Wanderers took place. From that moment on, he painted mainly visually spectacular portraits and genre-historical scenes (portrait of the artist’s wife, 1881, “The Kissing Rite,” 1895, both in the Russian Museum; “Prince Repnin at a feast with Ivan the Terrible,” Irkutsk Regional Art Museum). The paintings of Konstantin Makovsky were a huge success in high society. He was one of the most highly regarded artists of the time.
Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky died in an accident (a tram collided with his crew) in 1915 in St. Petersburg. The artist left a huge artistic legacy.

Children running from a thunderstorm, 1872

Peasant lunch in the field. 1871

Portrait of a son in the workshop

Little organ grinders near a fence in winter, 1868

In the artist's studio, 1881

Family portrait of the Volkovs

Princess Maria Nikolaevna

Portrait of the artist's children, 1882

Family portrait, 1882

Children of Mr. Balashov

Grandfather's stories. 1881(?)

Storyteller

<Makovsky Vladimir Egorovich(January 26 (February 7) 1846, Moscow - February 21, 1920, Petrograd) - an outstanding Russian artist, academician (1873), full member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1893).
One of the largest masters of the everyday genre in realistic painting of the 19th century.
Born in Moscow, in the family of one of the organizers of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, E. I. Makovsky. Brother of K. E. Makovsky.
From 1861 to 1866 Vladimir studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture with the successor of the Venetsianov school S.K. Zaryanko, E.S. Sorokin and V.A. Tropinin himself.
He graduated from college with a silver medal and the title of class artist of the third degree for his work “Literary Reading”. During this period, which coincided with the rise of the realistic everyday genre in Russian painting, its creative direction was determined.
In 1869, for the painting “Peasant Boys Guarding Horses,” Makovsky received the title of “class artist of the first degree with the Vigee-Lebrun gold medal for expression.” In 1873, for the painting “Nightingale Lovers,” V. E. Makovsky was promoted to academician by the Academy of Arts.
Member of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions since 1872.
Since 1894 Makovsky V. E. lived in St. Petersburg. He also successfully acted as a book and magazine illustrator and teacher (since 1882 he taught at the Moscow School of Painting and Painting, and then at the Academy of Arts).

In his work, V. E. Makovsky continued and developed the best traditions of the founders of the Russian genre - A. G. Venetsianov and V. A. Tropinin, outstanding Russian genre artists P. A. Fedotov and V. G. Perov.

Boy selling kvass, 1861

Rendezvous, 1883

Peasant boys, 1880

From the rain, 1887

Game of Grandmas, 1870

Shepherdesses, 1903

Fisherwomen, 1886

Peasant children, 1890

Peasant boys guarding horses at night, 1869

<Perov Vasily Grigorievich- Russian painter, master of everyday painting, portrait painter, historical painter.
Born in Tobolsk on December 21 or 23, 1833 (January 2 or 4, 1834). He was the illegitimate (since his parents were married after his birth) son of the local prosecutor, Baron G. K. Kridener, and the surname “Perov” was given to the future artist as a nickname by his literacy teacher, a lowly sexton.
He spent part of his childhood years in Arzamas, where he studied at the school of A.V. Stupin (1846-1849, with interruptions.
In 1853 he entered the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. Perov's teachers were Scotty M.I., Mokritsky A.N., Zaryanko S.K., classmate and friend - Pryanishnikov I.M.
In 1858, his painting “The Arrival of the Stavoy for Investigation” (1857) was awarded the Large Silver Medal, then he received the Small Gold Medal for the painting “First Rank. The Son of a Sexton, Promoted to Collegiate Registrar” (1860, location unknown). Perov's first works were a great success at exhibitions. For the graduation competition, V. G. Perov prepared the painting “Sermon in a Village” (1861, Tretyakov Gallery). The author was awarded the Big Gold Medal and the right to travel abroad.
Having traveled abroad, the artist settled in Paris. However, “not knowing either the people, their way of life, or their character,” Perov did not see the benefit of working in France and asked permission to return home ahead of schedule. He received permission to continue his retirement in Russia and in 1864 came to Moscow.
V. G. Perov entered the history of art as the leader of the critical movement in Russian everyday painting of the 1860s, combining in his work sympathy for the “humiliated and insulted” and the angry pathos of the satirical face of those in power. The artist’s work had a significant influence on the development of Russian, especially Moscow, art in the second half of the 19th century.
He was one of the founding members of the Association of Itinerants (1870).
In 1871-1882, V. G. Perov taught at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where among his students were N. A. Kasatkin, S. A. Korovin, M. V. Nesterov, A. P. Ryabushkin.
Perov V.G. died in the village of Kuzminki (in those years - near Moscow) on May 29 (June 10), 1882. ()

Seeing off the deceased

Sleeping children

Troika

Girl with a jug

A craftsman boy staring at a parrot

Fishing

<Korzukhin Alexey Ivanovich(1835 - 1894) - Russian genre painter. The future artist was born on March 11 (23), 1835 at the Uktus plant (now Yekaterinburg) in the family of a serf gold panner. He discovered his artistic abilities early. Already in his adolescence, he painted portraits of relatives and participated in painting icons for the local Transfiguration Church (1840s).
In 1857, Korzukhin arrived in St. Petersburg and a year later became a student at the Academy of Arts. Here he studied from 1858 to 1863. His painting “The Drunken Father of the Family” was awarded a small gold medal by the Academy in 1861. However, he refused to compete for a big gold medal and the right to a pensioner's trip: together with other participants in the famous revolt of the fourteen in 1863, he left the Academy and became a member of the Artel of Artists (particularly including Kramskoy, Konstantin Makovsky, Lemokh, etc.).
In 1868, for the painting “The Return of the Father of the Family from the Fair,” Korzukhin received the title of Academician of the Academy of Arts.
Founding member of the Partnership of Itinerants: his signature was on the Charter of the Partnership, adopted by the government in 1870.
Korzukhin’s creativity was not limited only to genre paintings. The artist also painted portraits and often carried out church commissions (he took part in the picturesque decoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the painting of the cathedral in Yelets, and completed a number of images for the cathedral in Riga).
The murder of Emperor Alexander II by Narodnaya Volya as an involuntary witness, which the painter became in 1881, had an extreme shock on him and had a serious impact on the artist’s health. However, he continued his active creative work.
Alexey Ivanovich Korzukhin died in St. Petersburg on October 18 (30), 1894.

Returning from the city

Peasant girls lost in the forest

Avian enemies

Girl

Grandmother with granddaughter

At the edge of the bread

The main source of knowledge is the website webstarco.narod.ru, supplemented by reproductions from various art galleries: arttrans.com.ua, rita-redsky.livejournal.com, many others.

For some time now I have been paying attention to what and, most importantly, how children draw. Their paintings and drawings arouse in me keen interest, admiration and, I must admit, envy. The envy of an adult who is also trying to draw something amazing. Although, when starting a new drawing, I don’t think: I need to do something to surprise everyone. Rather, I'm trying to express what interests me at the moment, what I want to see in this picture at the moment. In the end, it would be good if I were surprised by the result, but that’s how it turns out. Enough about yourself, though.

The drawings drawn by children are amazing in their artlessness and unmanneredness. The clumsiness of the hand, the sincerity of the creative urge and the spontaneity of expression give amazing results. It is clear that for children this is a game, one of the games. But they play as if this is their natural state. They don't pretend to play. They need this game. It is necessary for the inhabitants of the Kullu valley to paint the entrance to the cowshed with artless ornaments and figures. As for the people of Uttar Pradesh, it is necessary to apply designs on houses made of dung.

My friend's daughter is 7 months old. Recently, a friend wrote to me in a letter: “I tried to paint with Anna. I mixed flour with all sorts of food coloring and let her show her how to dip her hands into cups of paint and then how to spread it all over a sheet. Balls appeared on her forehead, her mouth gaped... well, off she went, then she washed herself off for a day. Now we can’t eat normally from a plate - he reaches into the puree with his hand, it’s colored, green or orange, and rinses his hands in it.” It’s hard for me to imagine what a child experiences when he discovers colors and lines, when he understands that he can handle them as freely as toys. I don’t remember such experiences from my childhood. Although, of course, I drew.

Children seem to perceive the two-dimensional space of the sheet literally. That's why they are the best abstract artists in the world. There is no false perspective and volume. Their compositions are relaxed. They even have their own idea of ​​the finished painting. My friends' daughter, when she was 2 years old, drew on stacks of sheets of paper. And every time, having depicted something on a sheet of paper, she confidently put it aside and started on another.

When I look at paintings drawn by children, I am perplexed: Why are these paintings worse than paintings by professional artists? Absolutely nothing. They are even better, because when children draw, they don’t think about fees or getting into art history.

I'm trying to teach children how to draw. How I would like to learn how to draw the way they do it completely naturally and playfully!

Even for many of us, an art exhibition sometimes causes yawning and is associated with something boring and uninteresting: well, a painting, well, something drawn - so what? And it seems that the child will not understand anything. But if you choose a suitable plot, discuss what you see together and share your impressions, it will be fun for both the children and you. Therefore, to avoid indifferent adults, it is better to learn to understand art and respect the work of a master from an early age.

Natalya Ignatova, a lecturer at the Level One educational project and a certified art historian, shared her secrets on how to instill in children a love of beauty.

Natalia Ignatova

Lecturer of the educational project Level One and certified art historian

Getting children interested in an art exhibition is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. And all parents can do it. To make a trip to the museum a good family tradition, take into account the age of the young viewer and study art in a playful way. Knowing your child, you can tell him the story of the painting in an unobtrusive and accessible way, which means you won’t overload him with unnecessary information.

Preschoolers

Children from 4 to 6 years old are not very interested in who painted this or that painting and why. To begin with, they just need to explain what a museum is and paintings in general. Most children at this age are already familiar with photographs. They've probably already tried filming mom and dad or their toys. Therefore, we can say that paintings are something like photographs. It’s just that before there were no smartphones or cameras, and people could only draw – and not only reality, but also fairy tales.

In preschool age, first of all, you need to teach your child to look carefully at pictures. Please keep in mind that in the galleries there are paintings depicting both nudity and scenes of violence. Therefore, think about your route in advance. In the Tretyakov Gallery, it is best to immediately go to the hall with paintings by Viktor Vasnetsov (room No. 26). The ideal work for children to perceive is “Bogatyrs”.

V. M. Vasnetsov “Bogatyrs” (1898)

Tell the plot of this painting, which the artist loved very much, in the form of a fairy tale: “Once upon a time there were three heroes. Their names were Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. And they protected their lands from the invasion of enemies. And one day they went out into the field and...” Here you can ask the child what he thinks: do they see enemies or not? Draw the child’s attention to how the sword is extended, the arrow is prepared, how the characters in the picture are looking - in general, push him to the conclusion that the enemy is somewhere nearby. Imagine together what will happen next. Invite your child to think about how the epic heroes are similar and different, what their characters are.

By the way, this particular painting was the last in the collection of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, which he bought himself and hung with Vasnetsov in the place where the canvas hangs now.

In addition to fairy tales, children will enjoy studying paintings of animals, everyday scenes and still lifes.

I. F. Khrutsky “Flowers and Fruits” (1839)

Go to the still life of Ivan Khrutsky (room No. 14) and explain to your child that artists often draw everything they see. Ask him what fruits and vegetables are in the picture, where the insect is hidden, what paints the artist used, who likes which color best. At the same time, it will be more interesting if parents also share their impressions.

With younger schoolchildren, it is no longer necessary to run to specific halls, fearing that they will see scenes of war or the tender embrace of lovers. You can start with portraits and explain what genre they are.

Having chosen images of different people, ask your child if they are different from us and how, and also play the game “Guess who it is?” A military man, a merchant or, say, a king, with the attributes of power - a power and a scepter. Also tell us that portraits differ in genre - there are ceremonial portraits, full-length, and there are intimate portraits - waist-deep, and offer to determine which is which.

In addition, draw your child’s attention to the emotions of the characters. To do this, consider, for example, the faces of the men in Orest Kiprensky’s painting “Newspaper Readers in Naples” (room No. 8).

O. A. Kiprensky “Newspaper Readers in Naples” (1831)

One of them is reading a newspaper. You can ask: what are others doing? They listen - this is evident from the turn of the head of one and the thoughtful look of the other. Then it’s worth asking the question: why does one read to everyone? And the parents themselves will help answer it, with a little preparation. All these people in the picture are foreigners, and only one of them knows the language in which the newspaper is written. And he translates. The least interesting thing is reading to a dog who looks at the viewer and does not understand at all what is being said. Try to show your child that you are also listening to someone carefully, and invite him to compare how similar your face is to the facial expressions of the characters in the picture.

I. I. Levitan “Golden Autumn” (1895)

Also at this age you can admire the landscapes, so clear and bright. Consider “Golden Autumn” by Isaac Levitan with your child (room No. 37). Ask him: why is it autumn, what period does the landscape belong to, what colors did the artist use, what mood does the painting evoke?

Try to guess what time of year it is in the painting “Wet Meadow” by Fyodor Vasiliev (room No. 18). There are green trees painted there, flowers grow and the sun breaks through the clouds.

Also introduce your child to the landscapes of Konstantin Korovin (room No. 43). In his painting “In Winter” you will see a yard covered with snow and a horse harnessed to a sleigh.

Go to the painting by Alexei Savrasov, familiar to everyone from childhood, “The Rooks Have Arrived” (Hall No. 18). The artist depicted the middle of spring, when it becomes warm, so birds return from the south, but the leaves have not yet blossomed and the snow has not melted.

I. I. Shishkin “Morning in a pine forest” (1889)

Well, how can a little sweet tooth get past such a familiar picture (hall No. 25). Be sure to share a secret with your little one: the furry animals on a broken pine tree were painted by another artist, Konstantin Savitsky. At one time, he told his family that the author sold the painting for 4 thousand rubles, and therefore became “a participant in the 4th share.” Savitsky first put his signature on the work, but then removed it.

Draw the child’s attention to the fact that the tops of many trees seem to have been cut off and do not even fit on the canvas - with this the artist wanted to convey their power and majesty. And we, like the bears, find ourselves inside a dense thicket.

Children aged 9 years and older

Children aged 9-11 years can already be told about the personality of the artist and his life. However, for this, adults will have to prepare or take an audio guide.

Natalia Ignatova

Lecturer of the educational project Level One and certified art historian

Getting children interested in an art exhibition is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. And all parents can do it. To make a trip to the museum a good family tradition, take into account the age of the young viewer and study art in a playful way. Knowing your child, you can tell him the story of the painting in an unobtrusive and accessible way, which means you won’t overload him with unnecessary information.

Preschoolers

Children from 4 to 6 years old are not very interested in who painted this or that painting and why. To begin with, they just need to explain what a museum is and paintings in general. Most children at this age are already familiar with photographs. They've probably already tried filming mom and dad or their toys. Therefore, we can say that paintings are something like photographs. It’s just that before there were no smartphones or cameras, and people could only draw – and not only reality, but also fairy tales.

In preschool age, first of all, you need to teach your child to look carefully at pictures. Please keep in mind that in the galleries there are paintings depicting both nudity and scenes of violence. Therefore, think about your route in advance. In the Tretyakov Gallery, it is best to immediately go to the hall with paintings by Viktor Vasnetsov (room No. 26). The ideal work for children to perceive is “Bogatyrs”.