Raising Children - (Page 2 of 4)

Art is an important medium for offering points of view about society and morals within society. Today the modern media of newspapers, magazines, television and the internet are the more popular places of discussion and debate. In the past, paintings were used in the same way.

Holy Family with St. Catherine and St. Barbara was intended to help someone to think about the Holy Family. Jesus is attended by an angel from the heavenly realm, but the painting emphasizes the baby's humanity. Naked and vulnerable, the Baby Jesus depends upon his earthly parents for everything he needs. Unusually Joseph, rather than Mary, is shown holding the Christ Child, so the composition focuses the viewer's attention on the role of the father in a child's life.

In contrast the role of the mother is being questioned in George Morland's, A Visit to the Boarding School. The painter observes the uneasy bond between mother and daughter who appear to hardly know each other. This is intended to raise questions about the best way to bring up children. Should they be at home with their parents? Or sent away to school?

Images of children can also highlight the more innocent side to life. Richard Cosway's The Guardian Angel shows the child as a fragile, innocent creature and the urge to see it protected, in this case by a divine being, a guardian angel. It also presents an ideal view of a child's passage into the world, a far cry from the realities of childbirth!