Gazing at beautiful things acts on my soul.

–Michelangelo

I’m traveling in Italy with a group of architecture students and faculty. My dad teaches the senior studio and luckily invited me to tag along for their study abroad adventure. We’ve had incredible tour guides (architecture faculty, art historians, archaeologists, classics experts) through Rome, Orvieto, and Florence. While I am no architect, I have been mesmerized by the beauty of ancient columns, renaissance statues, baroque décor, and of course the works of the masters: Michelangelo’s ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and The Pieta (the sculpture above), St. Peter’s Basilica, Bernini’s Four Rivers, Caravaggio’s painting Conversion of St. Paul, Raphael’s School of Athens… Why do these works of art and mastery matter? They matter because they are beautiful. They are inspiring. They draw us in because of their beauty, and they teach us about beauty.

But this trip has shown me more beauty than just canvas or sculpture–I’ve listened to singing voices echo through the vaulted ceilings…I’ve walked through terrace gardens and studied carefully crafted shop windows decorated for Christmas…picturesque alleys sparkling with holiday lights…a restaurant tucked away in the grottos of Orvieto…and I’ve gratefully noted the beauty of a soft pillow after walking 11 miles in a single day.

Beauty seems to be everywhere here.

What can it teach us?

1) Beauty teaches us about God, 2) beauty inspires creativity, and 3) studying beauty promotes biblical and critical thinking skills.

1. Beauty teaches us about God

All beauty points us upward to the creator of all beauty, who is ultimately the most beautiful, in all of his glory. Russ Ramsey recently published a book called Rembrandt is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art Through the Eyes of Faith. Ramsey states that we have a “theological responsibility” to intentionally and continually interact with beauty for three reasons: 1) God is intrinsically beautiful, 2) creation is intrinsically beautiful, and 3) “God’s people shall be adorned in beauty for all eternity.”

When we are looking at a piece of artwork that moves us or stirs us because it is so beautiful, our hearts are displaying an inherent longing that only God can satisfy. “No other creature stops to behold something beautiful for no other reason than that it has stirred something in their souls. When we do these things, are we not like Moses and David, hungering to see the glory of God?”(Ramsey, 2022).

When we introduce our children to beauty, we are filling up the treasure chest of their minds with beautiful things. Think of the verse “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Phillipians 4:8 (NIV). Filling up your child’s mind with “whatever is lovely” doesn’t necessarily mean taking a trip to Italy. It can be reading the beautiful and powerful words of Scripture over lunch, or listening to Bach’s Cello Suite #1 in G Major while playing with blocks in the playroom. It could look like a basic arts craft after library storytime or a walk around the neighborhood admiring Christmas lights and holiday decorations together. Loveliness and beauty are all around us, and we can point it out to help our children find it wherever they go. Sharing beauty with others, including our children, is part of what makes beauty so enjoyable. “We ache to share the experience of beauty with other people, to look at someone near us and say, Do you hear that? Do you see that? How beautiful!” (Ramsey, 2022).

2. Beauty inspires creativity

We were created to create. God created and we were made in his image. While we often create for what is useful, we also create “beauty for beauty’s sake” because that is what God did in much of creation (Ramsey, 2022). The world is full of things that were created beautiful, not because they had to be, but because they could be.

When we see others creating, or we see the product they have created (music, painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.) we are inspired to create, too (Ramsey, 2022). Marveling at sculpted marble does not mean I will become a sculptor, but maybe I am inspired to beautify my own home and spaces around myself and my family. After admiring the use of vibrant colors, I’m emboldened in the choices of my wardrobe or choosing to plant a bright flower in our garden. By seeing a familiar bible story in a painting, a child might be encouraged to draw it or act it out. When I hear an enchanting melody, I am able to relax and be present to see (and hear) the beautiful things around me. When I’m served a warm, frothy cappuccino, and the smell of coffee and chocolate fills a little Roman cafe, I’m inspired to make hot chocolate for my children and snuggle up with a good book when I get back home.

Seeing beauty spurs creativity. Seeing the creativity of others inspires more creativity–more perspectives–more ideas.

3. Studying beauty promotes biblical and critical thinking skills

The goal of thriving little thinkers is to create kids who know how to think. Studying sources of beauty builds important thinking skills, both biblical thinking and critical thinking. If beauty points us to God, then studying beauty can be linked to biblical thinking (read above about how beauty teaches us about God). We can promote biblical thinking and reflect on the beauty of God by pointing out the beauty around us everyday and discussing how all earthly beauty is pointing toward the ultimate heavenly beauty.

Studying beauty can also build critical thinking. Art study is even used in preschools and elementary schools to build thinking skills: “By looking closely together at a Picasso or a Cezanne, 4- and 5-year-olds are learning how to observe and translate their thoughts into language and listen and respond to multiple perspectives” (Frey, 2015).

A nonprofit called Visual Thinking Strategies has created a research based approach to helping early learners develop a mental framework for evaluating art. Instead of the teacher reciting “pre-digested information which is not relevant,” or asking the student a dozen pointed questions, the teacher asks only two open-ended questions to stimulate thinking. These questions are:

What is going on here?

What do you see that makes you say that?

By asking these questions, the teacher encourages young and novice students to look closely, observe carefully, and to provide evidence for their responses. The process of answering these questions builds practical thinking skills that “spill over in useful ways into other subjects” (Housen, 1999)

Try This Today

1 ) Pick one masterpiece from this list (or use a personal favorite) or choose an excellently illustrated children’s book. “Picture books are an entry point to art and illustration. They can also widen a child’s aesthetic horizons” (Gurdon, 2019)

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
The Creation of Adam by Michaelangelo (from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel)
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Vermeer
Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet
Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh

2 ) Look at the chosen art or illustration together. Don’t point out anything specific. Just observe.

3 ) Ask the two simple questions suggested by Visual Thinking Strategies:

What is going on here?
What do you see that makes you say that?

You can paraphrase and reflect back their answers but try not to correct. There are no wrong answers here–this is a chance to practice developing an opinion and explaining it to others. If other family members are present, have them answer the questions too. This provides opportunities to practice listening and respecting the opinions of others. It may also open up new insights when your child (or you) hear alternative perspectives about the piece you are observing together.

Resources

Introducing art study

In our home, we do a group learning time together called “Morning Time” while we eat breakfast and for a few minutes after–just before we begin our day. We are using a printed curriculum from Brighter Day Press, and it includes art and picture study each week with a chosen artist. We are using Morning Time Volume 1, and highly recommend it! In addition to art study, it has open and go recommendations for bible readings, prayer, scripture memory, hymn study, music appreciation, poetry, and recommendations for read alouds. Click here to read more about the concept of Morning Time.

More art fun

The 123s of Art (for young leaners)

Mornings with Monet

Paint by Sticker Masterpieces (An art related activity book)

Louise Loves Art (This is one of my children’s favorites. It isn’t about art study, but about Louise’s love of art and her brother Art and recognizing that her masterpiece might be different than his.)

Rembrandt is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art Through the Eyes of Faith (A book for parents who are interested in learning more about art and faith.)

Book lists

https://growingbookbybook.com/art-books-for-kids/

https://www.livingbookslibrary.com/top-living-art-books/