conviction on the part of the little artist that he cannot draw.[1]
And yet, though the normal child's selection of a model is certainly very bold, it is strangely wise. For, when we begin to consider the human form we find that it is not only the measure of all things, but also that it is, as we said, a kind of store-house of originals. Within it, not without it, the great events take place. There, first of all, is elaborated everything which is to be flung forth at last and revealed in labour. All this is not a mere figure of speech. It is a simple fact, and it has been set forth already or alluded to by such writers as Zeizing, Virchow, and Ernest Kapp. And it is this amazing fact that makes the child's choice so significant.
But this is not all. The adult human figure and head, offers, in spite of many fallings off in individuals and even deformities, the best, the most
- ↑ The school doctor looks at a child's drawings, as he looks at a child's face or hand—that is, mainly to learn what he can about him. His interest in the drawing itself is a secondary thing. But the drawing reveals something about the artist—his touch, sight, memories, attentive power, etc.—so it is like the tool, a kind of book for him to read. As early art is very naïve, it is easier to read the meaning of child drawings, modellings, and inscriptions than might be supposed. It is proposed that at the International Exhibition of School Hygiene next year, a place shall be given to drawings, etc., as records, and to certain peculiarities in drawing, writing, and printing as symptoms.
