Analysis Of The Discovery Of Childhood By Philippe Aries

French medieval historian Philippe Aries’ chapter “The Discovery of Childhood” from his novel Centuries of Childhood addresses his theory of a constructed childhood, which took place from the thirteenth century up until the seventeenth century. During this time, he claims that our modern affinity for the innocence and beauty of childhood developed. Aries particularly wrote this piece in part for his fellow medieval historians as well as art historians already familiar with the many pieces he cites throughout. Although Aries’ evidence is quite suspect specifically with his emphasis on the Christ portrayals and his use of correspondences, his logical progression and chronological organization bolster his theory of childhood. Aries’ evidence relies too heavily on artists’ depictions of the infant Jesus as his source for the development of childhood. For example, Aries cites a Christ depiction from the second half of the twelfth century where Christ is dressed in an almost see through garment
“standing with His arms round His mother’s neck, nestling against her, cheek to cheek” (35). He cites this piece alone as the inspiration for many thirteenth century family scenes with the same tenderness and affection. The specific origin for such a broad genre that became popular in …show more content…
Aries does rely on his audience’s art history background; he writes for a much more specific audience of scholars, yet keeping in mind the ignorance of the reader is not the fault of the author. Possible improvements to his argument would be including photographs of the artwork he references as well as further explanations on some historical