Three Children and a Goat n.d.

This delicate drawing of three children and a goat was created with graphite on paper by an anonymous artist. The rounded, idyllic composition may seem at first like a purely decorative image. But if we think about the status of children and animals in Western social thought at the time this was made, we can begin to understand the nuances of its cultural context. This drawing asks us to consider the relationship between childhood innocence and the natural world. Here, the children’s nakedness might evoke the idea of being in a pre-social state, a state of nature. It could be read as a statement on the value of maintaining a pure state of innocence, unsullied by social conventions. We can see the children, and the goat, as being in a state of harmony with their natural surroundings. To understand more about the cultural significance of this image, we might look at art criticism, social histories of childhood, or popular literature. These can illuminate how these kinds of images participated in debates about education, social progress, and the public role of art.