Bremen town musicians, 1958
Girl (age not specified), crayon, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
Pestalozzianum
On the climbing frame, not dated
Girl (12), water colours, Switzerland
Pestalozzianum
Sleeping Beauty, 1951
Boy (15), silhouette, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
Pestalozzianum
My mother, around 1955
Girl (10), crayon, Japan
Pestalozzianum
My mother with three children, 1957
Girl (5), cliché, Austria
Pestalozzianum
In the lounge in the winter, 1952
Girl (12), water colour, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
Pestalozzianum
Switzerland in colour, 1977
Boy (12), collage, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
Pestalozzianum
The Pestalozzianum Foundation's archive of drawings by children and adolescents in Zurich is one of the most comprehensive collections of its type in Europe, covering the period between 1912 and 1984.
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The archive is home to around 50,000 drawings collected from schools and competitions worldwide. They document everyday life, political and social events, as well as how art classes changed over time.
Childrens’ drawings and paintings have up until now only been of interest to developmental psychologists. They have, however, been little studied by art historians.
The archive is now evaluating its collection from a cultural and scientific point of view, studying social change through the art works. The evaluation has only just begun. One of the foundation’s main projects is the digitalisation of its archive. (Pictures: Stiftung Pestalozzianum Zürich)
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Art is ‘vital’ for children’s cognitive development
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