Literature: Fenaille 63 (II); Exh., Cat. Colorful Impressions, The Printmaking Revolution in Eighteenth-Century France, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2003-2004, cat. no. 92.

Fine impression with margins in a period frame, France around 1800.

This print is dedicated to the good grandfathers Bons Papa[s]

“After La Promenade publique in 1792, Debucourt made very few large scale multiple-plate color prints, following instead a general trend torwards the cheaper and less time-consuming production of compositions o single plates, inked a la poupée. One great exception is his print Les Plaisirs Paternels, based on his own drawing, which was surprisingly enough executed only in black chalk heightened with white (today, private collection Boston) … As Victor Carlson observed, Debucourt may have been responding to the then-new concern that strong family units could serve as the foundation for a newly stabilized, post-Revolutionary society … “ (Colorful Impressions, cat. no. 92.)