The Missing Child in History

I HAVE often wondered why there are no children in most medieval paintings and art works. There may be babies or infants, but they are not depicted as children. Their clothes, physique, facial expressions and poses are not those of a child, but of little adults. The image of the Santo Nino is a clear example of this. It looks more like a young version of Christ the King.

In the second half of the 20th century, many books were published that somewhat revolutionized our idea of the child. One common thread is that childhood is a recent concept. There were, of course, young people before the 16th century, but society did not consider them as children because the prevailing …

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Publication information: Article title: The Missing Child in History. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: Manila Bulletin. Publication date: January 18, 2009. Page number: Not available. © 2009 Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp. COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale Group.

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