A Bit of Observation, a Bunch of Benefits

This weekend we took a quick venture into Washington DC to enjoy the National Gallery of Art- my feet are paying for all of the walking but my heart is so full!

Each week in our homeschool we practice what Charlotte Mason calls “picture study” - and it is one of my favorite parts of the week. But there is something about the personal connection that happens when you actually stand in front of a piece of art instead of just looking at the piece in a book or on a screen- you are standing in the same place they stood as they created what was in their mind and put it on a canvas.

There is a literal connection with the person’s mind that created the thing in front of you- even if you don’t understand it or don’t like it, the connection is still there.

The artist said something with their heart and mind through a paintbrush or other media, and now, through the ages or maybe just a few years away, you are processing that thing into your own mind and your own heart.

At the National Gallery this weekend:

The light from stained glass created in the 1400s touched my skin in 2023…

I stood in front of a Vermeer and asked myself- why paint that girl? Why did you love that corner to paint, again and again? How did you master so eloquently the light from that window high up on the wall?

I saw the thick layer of paint that Picasso put on his Harlequin Musician that I had never noticed even though we have looked at it multiple times in an art book…

and some of the sculptures there were so lifelike it looked as if they could step right off of the pedestal and take a walk with me.

I am not an art historian or critic, but I don’t need to be- because the point is the connection, the humanity that I could sense from the artist that touched the humanity in me.

Beauty matters.

These deep thoughts that we have only when we encounter art- they matter.

Charlotte Mason said so much about the importance of beauty and of art in her writings. She understood the benefits and importance of observation:

“We cannot measure the influence that one or another artist has upon the child’s sense of beauty, upon his power of seeing, as in a picture, the common sights of life; he is enriched more than we know in having really looked at even a single picture.” (Vol. 1, p. 309)

It doesn’t require going to an art museum to make a valuable, important connection through observing art.

This article by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine explains: “There is increasing evidence in rehabilitation medicine and the field of neuroscience that art enhances brain function by impacting brain wave patterns, emotions, and the nervous system. Art can also raise serotonin levels. These benefits don’t just come from making art, they also occur by experiencing art. Observing art can stimulate the creation of new neural pathways and ways of thinking.”

And the observing of art doesn’t have to be complicated!

If you can’t get to an art museum today, HERE is the link to the National Gallery of Art- take a little virtual tour and choose a piece of art to observe. I have included a Picture Study resource for you as a download for this week- print it out and enjoy the connection together- with the artist, with each other, and experience the benefits.

A bit of observation for a bunch of benefits- it’s worth a moment of your time, and we would love to hear about your experience! Share it with by email or on our social media pages:

Each week in our homeschool we practice what Charlotte Mason calls “picture study” - and it is one of my favorite parts of the week. But there is something about the personal connection that happens when you actually stand in front of a piece of art instead of just looking at the piece in a book or on a screen- you are standing in the same place they stood as they created what was in their mind and put it on a canvas.

There is a literal connection with the person’s mind that created the thing in front of you- even if you don’t understand it or don’t like it, the connection is still there.

The artist said something with their heart and mind through a paintbrush or other media, and now, through the ages or maybe just a few years away, you are processing that thing into your own mind and your own heart.

At the National Gallery this weekend:

The light from stained glass created in the 1400s touched my skin in 2023…

I stood in front of a Vermeer and asked myself- why paint that girl? Why did you love that corner to paint, again and again? How did you master so eloquently the light from that window high up on the wall?

I saw the thick layer of paint that Picasso put on his Harlequin Musician that I had never noticed even though we have looked at it multiple times in an art book…

and some of the sculptures there were so lifelike it looked as if they could step right off of the pedestal and take a walk with me.

I am not an art historian or critic, but I don’t need to be- because the point is the connection, the humanity that I could sense from the artist that touched the humanity in me.

Beauty matters.

These deep thoughts that we have only when we encounter art- they matter.

Charlotte Mason said so much about the importance of beauty and of art in her writings. She understood the benefits and importance of observation:

“We cannot measure the influence that one or another artist has upon the child’s sense of beauty, upon his power of seeing, as in a picture, the common sights of life; he is enriched more than we know in having really looked at even a single picture.” (Vol. 1, p. 309)

It doesn’t require going to an art museum to make a valuable, important connection through observing art.

This article by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine explains: “There is increasing evidence in rehabilitation medicine and the field of neuroscience that art enhances brain function by impacting brain wave patterns, emotions, and the nervous system. Art can also raise serotonin levels. These benefits don’t just come from making art, they also occur by experiencing art. Observing art can stimulate the creation of new neural pathways and ways of thinking.”

And the observing of art doesn’t have to be complicated!

If you can’t get to an art museum today, HERE is the link to the National Gallery of Art- take a little virtual tour and choose a piece of art to observe. I have included a Picture Study resource for you as a download for this week- print it out and enjoy the connection together- with the artist, with each other, and experience the benefits.

A bit of observation for a bunch of benefits- it’s worth a moment of your time, and we would love to hear about your experience! Share it with by email or on our social media pages!

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“An observant child should be put in the way of things worth observing.”

Charlotte Mason

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Blessings,

Shay Kemp