The master’s thesis addresses the artistic development of children – a topic that has been of interest to art educators and developmental psychologists for over a hundred years. The theoretical part begins with a review of the most important classical theories, such as those of Luquet, Goodenough, Piaget, Lowenfeld, Kellogg, Willats, and Arnheim, from which many subsequent, stage-based studies have evolved. In the 1970s, the foundations for a more contemporary understanding of artistic development emerged, later expanded upon in recent decades by the theories of authors such as Kerlavage, Kindler and Darras, and Louis. Modern theories emphasise a multidimensional approach to development, which also includes other artistic domains as well as an understanding of artistic media and the expressive use of materials. These contemporary theories address the problems of classical theories, also known as stage theories, such as: the linearity of development, cultural bias that prevents a holistic understanding of development, concentration on realism to measure development, and narrow perspectives that overlook the importance of various artistic fields. Children express themselves artistically through drawings, paintings, prints, and sculptures. Since classical theories of artistic development are based exclusively on the analysis of children’s drawings, we chose children’s paintings as the subject of our research. We were particularly interested in the role of colour in artistic development, specifically in how sensitive children of different ages are to colour dimensions. Among all the theories discussed in the theoretical section, none address how children perceive colour shades and colour contrasts. Therefore, the aim of this research became to highlight the importance of colour as a key factor in a comprehensive understanding of children's artistic development. We conducted an action research study in the first, fifth, and ninth grades of elementary school, and through document analysis, we gained insight into children's sensitivity to color dimensions.
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