Nancy E. Edwards, curator of European art/head of academic services, Kimbell Art Museum
Portraits of children proliferated in the Netherlands during the seventeenth century. Pictures of children wearing exquisite clothing and precious adornments, accompanied by prized pets and playthings and bearing fruits and flowers, signal not only the wealth and status of these affluent families, but also allude to the proper upbringing of their progeny. This lecture explores the subtexts often found in these endearing portraits of cherished offspring. The contemporary proverb “discipline bears fruit” derives from ancient Greek and Roman ideas that children’s natural state needs to be shaped through education and practice, taming natural passions and cultivating familial harmony and love of God and neighbor.
These lectures, part of a continuing series, introduce the permanent collection and selected exhibitions on view at the Kimbell.
To request an accessibility accommodation for a Kimbell program, please email us as far in advance as possible.
