Kids and Educators

Art history for kids | Kids' Art Projects | Other Kids' work

Art history for kids

National Gallery of Art Kids on Rogier van der Weyden's "Saint George and the Dragon" (1432-1435). Fun multi-page exploration of Weyden's painting. They draws a very emphatic contrast with Sodoma's "Saint George and the Dragon" (c. 1518), and a good page explaining what a symbol is, and what sort of symbol dragons were supposed to be.

The Dragon in China, Lesson Plan from the Art Institute of Chicago's Taoism and the Arts in China. Students compare western and eastern dragon images.

What Color is Celadon? Symbol "quiz" from the Metropolitan Museum. Unfortunately, if you know what this site is about, you'll know the answer to the quiz.

Painting of the Month Feature: Monster Hunt! from the National Gallery, London. Covers a few of the NG's monster paintings. Unfortunately, the only St. Margaret they have is Zurbarán's dragon-less one.

National Gallery, UK: "Take One Picture" an "exhibition of work by primary schools, inspired by Uccello's 'Saint George and the Dragon'". Take One Picture, which does a new painting every year, has a page with kids' artistic responses.

New York City Public Art Curriculum on "Good Defeats Evil," a 1990 sculpture by Zurab Tsereteli. An enamel based on the sculpture shows the dragon is part missile (it commemerates an arms agreement). I can't find a photo of the monument that shows the dragon, even though there are multiple copies, the most prominent of which stands right in front of the UN in New York!

Kids' Art Projects

The Worminster Dragon Mosaic. Website by Kate Rattray documents a 2002 mosaic depicting the story of the Somerset dragon and his defeat by Jocelyn, Bishop of Wells. Rattray and local residents (mostly schoolchildren) collaborated in designing and implementing the mosaic. The website includes photos of the mosaic, and her essay The Story of the Making of the Worminster Dragon Mosaic. See Saints and Dragons for more on this legend.

Clay dragons by Eastchester Middle School students (teacher: Dorothy Johnson)

The Chingford, Essex community mosaic, fashioned by Gary Drostle, the Chingford Hall Primary School and the local youth club .

Other Kids' work

"Kemond" by Sara Gilliland. Unfinished, colloquial first-person dragon story.

"Dragon Mountains" by Parker J. Hovis, 10 years old.

DRAGONS EXIST! a humorous story on the topic.