Children's play in the visual arts and literature

Abstract

Throughout history, society has expressed little interest in early childhood play. Still early literature authors and classical paintings portray childhood play experiences. The way play has been conceived in the past in child development, psychology and other disciplines relates to contemporary early childhood programmes. This article provides an historical overview of the way literature and the visual arts depict play. The early pioneers and historical representations of children's play are briefly discussed to help us understand the way play was portrayed in literature and the visual arts.

Keywords:

• play pioneers
• historical play
• classical paintings
• classical literature
• visual arts
• literature