Mijksenaar

Small or little people (#5)

2009

In the time of the Renaissance painters had to learn about perspective. In the beginning people in the distance were conceived not in perspective view but just as being small. For some reason also children where painted as grown-up people. A nice example can be found in the work of the Italian painter Giotto as shown here below in his Madonna and child, enthroned among angels and saints (14th century).


© Giotto. I Classici dell'Arte. (2004, Rizzoli)

Also in Italy, but seven centuries later, I found out that also contemporary graphic designers have problems depicting children but now because of laziness and lack of skills. 
Both children in this warning symbol near an elevator, are simply digitally 'squeezed' vertically from the adult originals. To fill the gap after the reduction, the girl is squeezed again but now horizontally. So basically this symbol tells us 'Small fat women and small men with oval heads must be accompanied by an adult man and an adult woman'.