return to Art of the Four Children Gallery #3 
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Paul Freeman, Four Children with Animals, 1960
Freeman portrays the Four Children as children in age and dress. He creates an orientalist flavor; identifying each child with an animal, he distinguishes them by personality traits. The wise child is colorfully dressed, and open to the world. Located under a tree with an owl, he is not at all bookish or reclusive even though he holds a book and expounds. The wicked child is identified with the aggressive snake in the Garden of Eden. His body language is closed and defiant and his clothing dark and foreboding in color. The simple child is epitomized by the sheep that follows blindly, while the fourth child sleeps beside a mother goose.