Kids' stuff How children draw the world
My dream car, 1982
Boy (12), crayon, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
The Emmental farmhouse, 1964
Boy (14), crayon, Stalden Creme competition
Washing day, 1963
Girl (age not specified), crayon, Switzerland
My favourite doll, 1975
Girl (8), felt pen, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
Spring awakening, 1934
Boy (12), water colour, Switzerland
Before tha ambush, 1934
Friedrich Dürrenmatt (Swiss writer, 13), Pestalozzi Calendar Competition, Switzerland
My brother, 1919
Alois Carigiet (book illustrator, 16), silhouette, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
Save our waters, 1962
Boy (15), crayon/water colour, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
Without title, 1969
Unknown, linoleum print, Switzerland
Magic flower, about 1950
Girl (10), gouache, Sweden
Mural painting, 1929
Boy (playschool), mural painting, poster paint, Switzerland
Bremen town musicians, 1958
Girl (age not specified), crayon, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
On the climbing frame, not dated
Girl (12), water colours, Switzerland
Sleeping Beauty, 1951
Boy (15), silhouette, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
My mother, around 1955
Girl (10), crayon, Japan
My mother with three children, 1957
Girl (5), cliché, Austria
In the lounge in the winter, 1952
Girl (12), water colour, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
Switzerland in colour, 1977
Boy (12), collage, Pestalozzi Calendar Competition
The Pestalozzianum Foundation's archive of drawings by children and adolescents in Zurich is one of the most comprehensive collections of its type in Europe, covering the period between 1912 and 1984.
The archive is home to around 50,000 drawings collected from schools and competitions worldwide. They document everyday life, political and social events, as well as how art classes changed over time.
Childrens' drawings and paintings have up until now only been of interest to developmental psychologists. They have, however, been little studied by art historians.
The archive is now evaluating its collection from a cultural and scientific point of view, studying social change through the art works. The evaluation has only just begun. One of the foundation's main projects is the digitalisation of its archive. (Pictures: Stiftung Pestalozzianum Zürich)
Links
The citizens' meeting
The citizens' meeting
