Wisdom of Rembrandt for Young Artists

A great first step to involve children in visual arts is to share artists throughout history with children. Together, look at pictures of every variety of art. Seeing a work of art involves the person looking at it, and each one of us looking at it becomes a creator. This is because we each have our own individual experience. For example, when looking at a Picasso or a Rembrandt painting, our reaction to colors is personal, we each have our own unique idea of what the story behind the picture is, we like or do not, etc. We each see it in our private way, and every interpretation and exerience is unique.

A second step is to provide materials with which to create - drawing, painting, mashing clay or dough around. This should be creative play, not "make a pretty (polished) picture." There should never be any attachment to the outcome, or the final product. By allowing children the experience of self-expression, with no expectations, self-esteem blossoms. When students are told to "finish your picture," this is a judgment by the instructor that the picture should look a certain way.

One of the worst experiences for art students is when the teacher critiques each student's piece in front of the whole class. This is justified as a learning experience, but can be totally devastating for some people. In my experience, one-on-one is special, always benefits every student, and people are not forced to compare what they are doing with the artwork of fellow students. The individual artist learns something from every project, even if it is never completed.

Nigel Konstam, founder of The Verrocchio Art Centre, Tuscany, Italy, in an interview by Clive O'Mahoney, says this about Rembrandt: "He was a very, very prolific artist. One fo the things that is interesting from an artist's pont of view is that he didn't exercise a great amount of self-criticism; he allowed himself this huge variety of quality. He went through life starting many new things and leaving them when he himself was satisfied. He said "the work was finished when the artist had realised his intention" - that's a very sensible dictum. The standard Dutch artist would polish every nook and cranny of his painting; it was full of very rich detail. Rembrandt was saying the oposite, that it is the artist's intention that is interesting and the finish polish of the whole thing is of very minor interest - a completely different attitude to a work of art."

I would like to recommend this book for parents of younger kids. It's a great example of how to integrate art into your child's personal growth activities via fine art.