'Chalking The Streets' Since The 16th Century

Special to the Ulysses News

By Marietta Cobb

Museum Of Art

Chalking the streets is believed to have begun in Europe during the 16th century. Italy was the hub of the of the Madonnari –(street artist). These street artists would travel from festival to festival drawing Madonna and other religious icons using chalk, coal and tile. Coins were tossed to them as they chalked to pay homage to Madonna. These folk artists were able to create simple images on paved town squares and dirt using minimal materials.

Street painters also appearing in London in the mid-1800s. These artists were called “screevers”. This term refers to the messages that were included with their drawings. The typical artwork was religious or moral in nature and the messages reflected the virtues of their drawings. Authors George Orwell and Pamela Lyndon Travers wrote about street painters in their works in the early 1900s. Screever became popularized in the Disney film Mary Poppins by the character Bert.

Through the years, madonnaris decreased in numbers. In 1972 at the International Street Painting Festival in Grazie di Curtatone in Northern Italy, these madonnaris finally got recognition for pioneering of this form of art. The festival in Grazie di Curtatone brought attention to this art form.

In the 1980s a few artists brought street painting to the United States. “Sidewalk Sam” (Robert Guillemin) made a lasting contribution to this performing art form. Kurt Wenner became the first American artist to practice Italian madonnari. Wenner introduced this art form in the USA at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art at the first such festival in 1985.

Today there are several festivals around the country attracting top artists from around the world.

From The National

Museum of Play

Historians have every reason to believe that the earliest people played with chalk. Chalk’s use in playful pursuits relies on its physical properties. Chalk that was used on early boards was made of gypsum, which is found naturally and can be pulverized, colored, and compressed into sticks.

Folk artists in the 16th Century used pieces of broken tile, charcoal, and chalk to create their colorful works. The tradition of street painting continued for centuries; only a conflict of the scale of World War II ended this kind of playful public art.

In 1972, a town in Italy hosted a street painters’ competition to publicize the works of a dwindling tradition and to record the art of a few remaining painters. The competition helped to revive street painting and, within a decade or so, street painters were decorating pavements in cities all over the world. Manufactured chalks and artist-made chalks in a variety of colors helped produce drawings that could be more intricate and colorful.

The revival of street painters in the mid-20th century gave rise to street painting and sidewalk chalking as a popular pastime for kids young and old. In fact, you could fill an entire day with fun chalk activities. Drawing on pavement might be an excellent way to spend a sunny morning. A good game of hopscotch just before lunch works up an appetite. Contemplative doodling after lunch surely aids digestion. Cooling down over a game or two of Hangman or tic-tac-toe works cranial muscles as much as hand-eye coordination. There are few limits to what kids can do with chalk. Every sidewalk square, patio, or driveway holds the potential for chalk to transform it into a work of art, a winning game of strategy and cleverness, or a demonstration of physical agility, poise, and balance.