Picture study is a Charlotte Mason method of art appreciation where children spend time quietly observing great masterpieces, one artist per term, developing attention, observation skills, and a personal relationship with fine art.
What Is Picture Study?
Picture study is the Charlotte Mason approach to art appreciation—and it looks nothing like traditional art history. Instead of memorizing dates, movements, and artist biographies, children simply look at great paintings. Closely. Quietly. One artist at a time. The goal is building what Mason called an "inner gallery": a collection of beautiful images permanently stored in a child's imagination. Over years of picture study, students develop refined aesthetic sensibilities and genuine relationships with art, not just facts about it.
Key Takeaways
- Study one artist per term (about 12 weeks), examining 6-8 paintings
- Sessions are brief: 10-15 minutes weekly for most ages
- Focus on observation and narration, not art history facts
- Begin formal picture study around age 6
- No special art knowledge required from parents
How to Conduct a Picture Study
Why It Works
Charlotte Mason believed art should speak for itself. "As in a worthy book we leave the author to tell his own tale, so do we trust a picture to tell its tale through the medium the artist gave it," she wrote. Picture study trains attention—that increasingly rare ability to focus deeply on one thing. It develops observation skills, visual memory, and articulate description through narration. Perhaps most importantly, it builds genuine appreciation rather than dutiful fact recitation. A child who has truly studied Vermeer will recognize his light anywhere, not because they memorized "Dutch Golden Age painter" but because they know his work intimately.
Artist Progression
Mason recommended three artists per year, studied one per term. Most Charlotte Mason curricula rotate through different eras and styles to give children broad exposure. A typical progression might include Renaissance masters (Leonardo, Raphael), Dutch painters (Rembrandt, Vermeer), Impressionists (Monet, Renoir), and American artists (Homer, Cassatt). AmblesideOnline offers a complete 36-term artist rotation that many homeschoolers follow. The specific artists matter less than consistent, unhurried study over time.
Free Resources
AmblesideOnline provides a complete, free artist rotation with links to artwork and background information for each term. A Humble Place offers downloadable PDF files with printable paintings following the AmblesideOnline rotation. Most major museums have high-resolution images available online—the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery, and Google Arts & Culture all provide excellent reproductions. For those wanting physical prints, Simply Charlotte Mason offers quality 11x14 portfolios with artist biographies.
The Bottom Line
Picture study exemplifies the Charlotte Mason philosophy: trust great art to teach, give children time to truly see, and let relationships form naturally. No art degree required from parents—your job is simply to provide the picture and the time. Over years of this practice, children develop what Mason described as "at least a couple of hundred pictures by great masters hanging permanently in the halls of imagination." That internal gallery enriches their perception of beauty for life.
