Kids. There's something about their beauty and innocence that artists find irresistible. Perhaps its the urge to capture these ethereal qualities of youth, before they are lost to the maturity of adulthood that compels a painter to adorn a canvas with a sweetly smiling face, or carve a block of limestone into the pudgy form of a mischievous toddler.

A new exhibition at the National Art Center in Tokyo, which runs through June 1, includes 200 works on loan from the Louvre, that depict children. From Egyptian mummies and Greek vases, to Titian's Italian Renaissance Christ child and the tawny-locked tots of English portraitist Joshua Reynolds' idyllic 18th century scenes, "Children in the Collection of the Louvre" spans four thousand years of art history. What an excellent way to study the progression of style, and the development of art through the centuries!

With its French restaurant, tea salon, attractive cafes, and inviting museum shop, Tokyo's National Art Center makes a wonderful place to spend a good part of a day. But if the show's historical masterpieces leave you hungry for further exploration into more contemporary realms, or more traditional Japanese works, the Mori Art Museum and Suntory Museum of Art are just a short stroll away. And after such a busy art-filled day, your "Heavenly Bed" at The Westin Tokyo just might be the most fabulous work of art you've seen all day.

Watch this video of "Children in Art" and do tell us - what's your favorite painting of children? I've always loved Mary Cassatt's Children Playing on the Beach.