Originally published in London in the late 1830's and fascinating for its view of children's learning (4 to 5 to 10 or 12). The object was to start from a young child's perception of the whole, to correct gently if at all, and to alternate this copying with drawing from life and from the imagination. " to teach him to think and act for himself, not to teach him to imitate another." The book contains an introduction on the principles of art education, notes to the teacher on the teaching of art, notes on every individual exercise, and 150 woodcuts to copy. Most are of common objects, dogs, and cows. The rather crude drawings were intentional; perspective, foreshortening, and shading were treated only briefly at the very end. (In the 1840s large drawing copies, for use by 40 or 50 children at a time, were also published). Do you know an art teacher sheltering at home? This is the book for them!
