ABSTRACT
The twentieth century has often been described as the century of the child, at least for the affluent and educated areas of the world. The majority of children in those areas consequently received care and attention. The state took an active interest in their physical development and in the prevention of childhood diseases. The concept of the child had gradually changed, so, by the time of the Renaissance, had the social idea of the artist. Unlikely to be of poor background, no longer an artisan who served an apprenticeship, the artist became a person, usually male, whose family could afford to be financially supportive and to provide such training as seemed necessary to achieve professional standards. Before the nineteenth century, the most promising young students of art in western Europe would have been likely to present themselves for admission to one of the major art academies, initially Italian ones in Florence, Perugia and Rome.
