A View on the Children's Lives in European Soap Bubble Game Paintings in the 16th-19th Centuries

In the history of European art from the 16th to the 19th centuries, artists created a large number of works depicting children playing with soap bubbles. These paintings not only present vivid scenes of children playing with soap bubbles, but also reflect the changes in children's status in social culture, as well as the historical evolution of people's attitudes towards children's lives. Through the iconographic analysis methods, these classic paintings of children can be interpreted to reveal that soap bubbles have multiple symbolic meanings in different historical periods. In the 16th to 17th centuries, fragile soap bubbles were a metaphor for the fragility of children's lives in vanitas paintings; in addition to their symbolic life meaning of death, soap bubbles are also carriers for showcasing the daily activities and moral significance of secular children. By the 18th to 19th centuries, with the game attribute of children playing with soap bubbles being more prominent, the soap bubble game became an iconic activity representing a unique life stage called childhood, and reflected the concept of protecting children's lives through improving their hygiene in the era of preventive medicine. The examination of soap bubble game paintings and the underlying views on children's lives in history can not only enrich people's understanding of the history of children's soap bubble games, but also deepen their understanding of the evolution of views on children's lives, thus prompting the reflection on the current society's views on children.