The child in art

"Every child is an artist. The difficulty is to remain one when you grow up." - Pablo Picasso

Children have played an important role in the world of art for centuries. Is this because, as a child, every artist dreamed of a future as a respected, loved and recognised artist? Or perhaps because the love for a child is stronger than all other forms of love?

Each artist had his own reasons for including children in his works of art.

Léon Marie C. Dansaert creates a warm, family atmosphere by placing the little girl at the centre of his composition. The gap between rich and poor is invariably blurred by this lovely scene.

Georges Lemmen shows his fatherly pride by repeatedly depicting his own children in his works of art. Pierre, Jacques and Lisa were often his muses for his paintings and drawings.

Alex Wauters chooses to depict motherhood, the bond between mother and child, in its purest form. The loving gaze of the mother while suckling her baby gives the work more colour than is apparent at first sight.