ABSTRACT
Many parents and teachers believe that they should not intervene in their children’s artwork since the whole point of it is concerned with self-expression. Furthermore, they often fear that interference may stifle children’s creativity and even cause psychological damage. Where did these ideas come from? They can be traced back to a number of influential authors. One was Franz Cisek working in Vienna in the 1890s and later (reported by Viola, 1936) who became interested in children’s drawing and painting and set up children’s art classes. He later became known as ‘the father of child art’ although a number of other people might also be justified in claiming this title, for example the American, Earl Barnes (1893), and the Italian, Corrado Ricci (1887). Franz Cisek believed that children’s artwork is universal and spontaneous and that it can and should develop effortlessly into the creativity of the adult artist, if it is left uncontaminated by the cultural conventions we normally try to impose on it both through our expectations and teaching. Many parents and teachers have taken this to mean that we should certainly not show children how to draw and should perhaps even refrain from commenting on a child’s drawing lest any apparent criticism stifles the child’s future creativity.
