Vibrant color painting by Flemish painter, Pieter Bruegel, titled "Children's Games" (1560). This summer townscape that is devoid of adults and rich in detail about Medieval children—especially at play. The painting provides a window into amusements and recreations in the past in its detailed depiction of some 200 children engaged in nearly 80 different games and play activities. Many (although not all) of the outdoor activities included in this visual compendium of 16th-century children's play will be recognizably familiar. Physically energetic and imaginatively engaged girls and boys are everywhere in Bruegel's busy painting. Some are using their bodies, others are playing with children and/or with toys (e.g., windmill; hoops). Here are some examples: Three boys mounted on a red fence are pretending to race horses. A few are playing leapfrog and others playing "horsey" and "tug of war." Another is straddling a hobbyhorse. Two girls are playing a medieval form of jacks but with a bone instead of a ball. A group of children playing dress-up are staging a wedding. A small group of boys are spinning tops (a popular toy). A girl is playing musical instruments, another with a doll. A few boys are balancing on barrels. Some children are engaged in solitary play (e.g., blowing bubbles; dollmaking). While some are playing gently, there are rough bullies here as well.

Two color photographs. The first shows boys in Diepsloot Township, Johannesburg, South Africa, playing with rolling toys that they have elaborately constructed our of discarded aluminum or steel, soft drink cans, plastic processed food tubs, and water bottles. The material that holds them together is ordinary wire such as coat-hangers. The second photo shows a close-up of one of the creations. Paint or some type of pigment seems to have been added to the bottle that forms the body of the vehicle, which is embellished with fringe-cut cans in the manner of a chimney or headlamp, and the margarine-tub trailer has a similar fringed can on the rear. The makers have given attention to color, form, movement and functionality in these toys. The photograph is from C is for Candy, the design blog by Candy Chang, photographer, designer, artist, and urban planner in Helsinki, Finland, who travels widely to collect innovative ideas about design and urban spaces, and is a 2009 TED Global Fellow.

5.5 centimeters (2.1 inches) high

Two images of a monkey figurine hand-modeled from terracotta, shown in two views, mounted on a wooden platform for display. It was apparently designed with the ability to slide down a string or thin rod so as to appear to climb or jump. The figurine features a fully rounded body in a complicated, lifelike pose with a realistic facial expression, ears, and incised lines representing its fur.

Barbie Turns 21

What is no taller than a daisy, drives a Corvette and always, always gets invited to the prom? The Barbie doll, of course, the diminutive clotheshorse who will be 21 next year and still reigns as a princess in a court of girlhood heroines that includes Nancy Drew and Miss America. Barbie has been displayed at the Smithsonian, sealed in time capsules, and saluted by Betty Ford. Since Mattel, Inc. introduced her in 1959, more Barbies probably have been bought—112 million at last count—than any other doll. To celebrate her birthday Barbie threw a party at her new two-story Dream House. A flock of Barbies old and new turned out in a festive hodgepodge of dresses, jodhpurs and bikinis, bringing a mix of ever-courtly Kens in tow. The original doll, in her trademark striped swimsuit, stands behind the cake. At her side is the newest Barbie, who wears a dainty floor-length frock and blows kisses at the touch of a panel on her back. Despite the frowns of feminists, last year about $160 million worth of Barbies, similar dolls, their clothes, houses and other accoutrements were sold, making the fashion-doll business a stylish slice of the toy industry.

Tiny Chic

Before Barbie came along, dolls were cuddled, diapered and burped. But 11 ½ inch Barbie had a most unbabylike shape (5 ½-3-4 ¾), the fine-boned face of a model and 21 chic ensembles. She was meant to be dressed, coiffed and used, as her creator and ex-Mattel president Ruth Handler puts it, "to project every little girl's dream of the future." About a thousand outfits have been made for Barbie; the sheer number of them makes Mattel the top manufacturer of women’s clothing in the world. In the fashion parade on these pages, Barbies model a selection of the outfits that faithfully copied couture trends of the day such as bubble skirts (’59), snug sheaths (’61) and tailored suits (’66). They show an almost microscopic attention to detail, from hand-stitched hemlines to tiny gold buttons.

New Looks

To stay in vogue, Barbie’s wardrobe has included midis, minis and maxis, granny gowns (’73) and goucho pants (’77). In ’71 she made an appearance as a tie-dyed rock singer; by last year she was sporting a peppy jogging outfit. Her face and hairstyles have also undergone an impressive series of changes, with the crimson lips and nails, heavy eye makeup, ponytails and pageboys gradually giving way to some 40 alterations. When Mattel discovered in the early ‘70s that brunettes and redheads weren’t selling, it began offering blond Barbies almost exclusively. The consistent best-seller is bronzed Malibu Barbie, introduced in ’71 (this year’s model shows 'suntan lines' under her bathing suit). Another favorite is Superstar Barbie (’77), whose toothy smile and glossy tresses bear an uncanny likeness to a certain ex-Charlie’s Angel. Transformations aside, however, Barbie retains her wholesome image. The frothy wedding gown, re-created annually, remains the most popular dress in Barbie’s collection.

http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/nochildsplay/index.asp

Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum

August 2009

The exhibit No Child's Play at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem presents the photos, drawings, toys, dolls, and board games of children who were victims of the Holocaust. Of the ca. 6 million persons killed, one and a half million were children. The intent of the site is to provide viewers with insight into the lives of children during the Shoah by focusing on the personal stories and material culture of those few who survived. The children's stories are presented here with texts and images, written and edited by Yehudit Inbar, curator of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum.

This collection of narratives and artifacts reveals that children found comfort and companionship in the material culture of their childhood that also enabled them to create a reality different from that which surrounded them. Moreover, the array of child-centered documentary sources demonstrates how children provided their parents with encouragement, hope, in addition to money and food, that enabled them to continue their desperate daily fight for survival. The introduction is followed by a sequence of chronologically-organized links: the world of children before the war; in the shadow of the war; in the ghettos and the camps; in hiding, and in their new life. The viewer can easily click through the individual pages of each chapter—which contain between three to 15 images—while maintaining direct access to the chapter titles located in the left-hand navigation bar.

The texts that accompany the images offer useful explanations and clearly highlight their significance in a broader context. As the author emphasizes about the photographs in the "Before the War" section, all children lived their own individual lives, and none of the images present anything unusual or extraordinary. These images of ordinary children's lives underscore, however, the horror that was to come. During the war, many parents tried to save their children by sending them abroad. Youth Aliyah, for instance, successfully sent some 5,000 children to Palestine, while 9,000 left Germany after Kristallnacht for Great Britain. The rising tide of anti-Semitism, however, forced the return of refugees such as Liesel Joseph, a passenger on the ill-fated Saint Louis. The ocean liner depicted in Liesels colorful drawing that was prevented from disembarking Jewish passengers in Cuba returned to Europe.

The chapter, "Ghettos and Camps," includes illustrations of pre-ghetto life by Czech artist Bedrich Fritta created in celebration of his son's third birthday. Also included are several illustrations of the Theresienstadt ghetto drawn by an artistically talented teenage boy and dolls owned by two survivors whose stories also shed light on the enormous importance of toys to children living in ghettos and camps. There are even photos of a monopoly-like board game created in a graphics workshop engaged in underground activities that sought to provide children with useful information about how to survive the ghetto. (Unfortunately, much of the text printed on the game board and playing cards is frustratingly illegible in the site's magnified version.)

For the section "In Hiding" the curator/editor included a selection of photographs of children with classmates and toys, as well as the teddy bear that belonged to a boy while hidden in Holland by a Christian family. The recollections of survivors included throughout the site provide unique insight into the personal meanings of children's possessions in a historically-specific context. The final section, "Toward a New Life," consists of only three black and white photos of groups of children and one boy who did not want to let go of a toy gun once he had been liberated from Buchenwald.

However small the selection of sources, No Child's Play is sure to provide students with a deeper understanding of the impact of the Holocaust on children by giving voice to its victims. Teachers might find the need to include supplementary sources (both primary and secondary) due to the site's scant documentation of the horrors of the Holocaust. There is no guide to additional resources, however. And, in the absence of useful teaching strategies, instructors might find it helpful to discuss with their students the different methods of analysis needed to unpack the variety of documentary sources—photographs, artifacts, narratives, etc.—that were created by and for children of the Holocaust.

Albrecht Classen

University of Arizona

The exhibit "No Child’s Play" at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem presents the photos, drawings, toys, dolls, and board games of children who were victims of the Holocaust.

Black and white photo of six children of the Seri indigenous people preparing to slide down a hill using the shells of sea turtles as sleds. The place is Tiburón Island in the Gulf of California, the state of Sonora, Mexico. The photograph was taken in 1924 by Edward H. Davis (1862-1951) who owned a ranch near San Diego, California.

5 cm (2 inch)

Sculpture of a crocodile is made of Nile River mud. The figurine has open jaws, slits for eyes, a curved tail that seems to whip it through the water, and feet that seem to be in motion. The maker used a stick to scratch markings into the back and along the tail to represent the animal's scales.

11 centimeters high and 16.5 centimeters long (4.3 x 6.5 inches)

This object made from terracotta was most likely a child's pull toy. It features functional wheels and a hole at the mouth for a string. The buffalo shows traces of stripes in red paint, and has markings that represent its curly forelock.

Finely carved ivory doll with moveable arms and legs. The doll is well proportioned, with detailed carving of the face and an elaborate hairstyle. The doll's limbs are jointed at the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees, and could have assumed many positions for active play.

http://www.metmuseum.org

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

February 10, 2009

The vast collection of the Metropolitan Museum is effectively arranged and integrated on the www.metmuseum.org website. Navigation of the site is straightforward, enabling efficient browsing or research. Although no specific essays or exhibits on children and youth are found on the site, several hundred artworks relevant to the topic can be located by searching the Collection Database or the Timeline of Art History (TOAH)—more than sites dedicated to the subject.

The Collection Database of 129,022 objects can be searched as a whole, by subject, by curatorial department, or by exhibit. The collection database search is comprehensive, and returned 3629 entries under "children." Childe Hassam is a distracter in this keyword search, but the search "Children NOT Childe" reduced the return to 319 items. "Boy" returned many distracters, but "girl" returned 954 items, and "infant" returned 252 items. "Toys" returned only 21 items, indicating a limitation of the museum's collection in that area. "Youth" returned 186 works and "young" 1741 items. The biggest drawback of the collection search was that many of the works are associated with placeholder images, although the metadata may help locate images elsewhere. As digitization of the collection proceeds, this may improve.

The TOAH is an unmatched resource for educators. The 6,000 included artworks are organized by three integrated elements: maps, timelines, and thematic essays. World and regional maps correlate artwork to eleven world eras and locate it in ten world regions. Timelines place the artworks in historical context, and include key events, political, stylistic and technological periodization. Eight hundred thematic essays provide historical context for groups of artwork and discuss characteristics, techniques, and significance. The essays reveal connections among civilizations and regions, and provide material for comparative study.

Educators searching for information on children in art can locate artworks featuring children and youth by a search of the TOAH, which seems more rewarding than the database search because all of the works are associated with images, and they are easily placed in context by TOAH's features. The searches are conveniently shown by category, so the user can bring up all relevant artworks, essays, timelines or other occurrences with one click.

A TOAH search of "children" found the term in 23 timelines, 153 thematic essays, and 396 works of art. "Figure, Child" in the Subject Index returned 21 essays and 80 works of art, each shown as a thumbnail image with titles. On the subject of childbirth, 15 artworks can be viewed. Terms such as "girl" (97 works), "boy" (9) and "young" or "youth" (4) returned artworks from across the globe and the eras.

An activity using the 97 artworks under "girl" might compare the relative age connoted by the term in various cultures and periods. Some depict small children, while others are clearly young women. A selection of western European drawings and paintings could focus on the changing definition of girlhood over time or explore symbols and objects associated with girlhood. Some of the artworks show girls in active social roles, playing sports and games, fulfilling ritual roles, or being mourned in funerary works. Some of the works are expressions of girls' work in various societies, such as needlework, preparation of trousseaus, or manual labor at home. In short, the collection can be used to gather ideas about girlhood over time and across cultures. Similar explorations about youth and boys could be made. Educators will find many ways to place childhood in historical context using this website.

Susan Douglass

George Mason University

Educators will find many ways to place childhood in historical context using this website.