Adam Dant’s Children’s Games
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If I admit that Breugel is my favourite artist, perhaps you will not be surprised to learn that I got up the middle of the night in January to fly to Vienna and walk through a blizzard in the dawn in order to stand in front of his painting Children’s Games on the last day of the exhibition of his paintings?
Adam Dant has created this magnificent homage to Breugel’s picture for an auction at Christies in aid of the Well Child charity. How many of the games listed below can you spot in his drawing?
Gun run
Kiss chase
Fox hunt
Keepy-Uppy
Boules
Twister
Pogo stick
Parachute
Swing ball
Stick and railings
Head through the railings
Dolls
Dog dress up
Space hoppers
Broom Jousting
Skipping
Skateboarding
Rollerskating
Scooters
Blind mans bluff
Tag
Duck duck goose
Trolley dash
Noughts and crosses
Leapfrog
Sardines
Hide and Seek
Stilt walking
Hanging upside down
Tightrope walking
Balancing
Paratroopers
Drones
Monopoly / Cluedo / Ludo / snakes and ladders / chess / board games / racing games
Nintendo / Games boy / X box / Fortnite / ‘console’ games
Grab the i-pad
Ice bucket challenge
Hoopla
Spinning top
Poking poo
Blow football
Tin can telephone
Rock, paper, scissors
Follow the leader
Bumps
Beanpole swords
Capture the flag
French cricket
Catapult
Burst the balloon
Pirates
Hot lava
Obstacle course
Musical statues
Kite flying
Shoe chimes
Pinata
Window stickers
Ghosts
Ring a ring a roses
London Bridge is falling down
Hopscotch
Wink murder
Marbles
Ball games
Hobby horse
Cowboys and Indians
Chasing games
What’s the time Mr Wolf
Conkers
Make the Ice Cream last longest
Brain Freeze
Hula hoop
Tug o War
Love hearts
Window smashing
Hangman
Builders and Destroyers
Falling over
Red Rover
Go carting
Pumpkin carving
Window licking
Texting / Snapchat / Instagram etc
Breugel’s Children’s Games, 1560
CLICK TO ORDER A COPY OF MAPS OF LONDON & BEYOND BY ADAM DANT
Adam Dant’s MAPS OF LONDON & BEYOND is a mighty monograph collecting together all your favourite works by Spitalfields Life‘s Contributing Cartographer in a beautiful big hardback book.
Including a map of London riots, the locations of early coffee houses and a colourful depiction of slang through the centuries, Adam Dant’s vision of city life and our prevailing obsessions with money, power and the pursuit of pleasure may genuinely be described as ‘Hogarthian.’
Unparalleled in his draughtsmanship and inventiveness, Adam Dant explores the byways of London’s cultural history in his ingenious drawings, annotated with erudite commentary and offering hours of fascination for the curious.
The book includes an extensive interview with Adam Dant by The Gentle Author.
Adam Dant’s limited edition prints including CHILDREN’S GAMES are available to purchase through TAG Fine Arts
Excellent stuff, Adam, and a very generous gesture.
Well done, Sir / FF / XX
Loved all the Pictures and many games!! I didn’t know them all!!?????????
Well done, Mr Dant. A fantastic Drawing as allways!
Love & Peace
ACHIM
Great stuff! I recognise most of the games apart from grab the i-pad and poking poo (!)
Our childhood was spent playing lots of card games – snap, sevens, pelmanism, happy families, donkey, whist, what, old maid, dump rummy, bridge and mammoth sessions of racing demon which still happen today with four generations taking part.
Not quite so much fun to illustrate though!
Adam ,
I went to see Manchester United play Rapid Vienna years ago , Beckham , Cantona and Solksjear played in sub zero conditions , earlier in the day I saw the great Breugels… One sent a shiver down my spine ~ Childrens games ; a copy of which had been outside the Head mistresses room in my Cheshire primary school.. when you were naughty you had to stand there and hope she did not come out.. i looked at that painting so closely for so many hours.. and then i saw the original and I was elated.. no cane ! just a beautiful painting,,Ian