Kiss papa with pinches 1833

Auguste Raffet created this print, titled "Kiss papa with pinches," using lithography. Raffet lived through the tumult of post-revolutionary France, a time where rapid social changes affected the structure of the family and the roles within it. Here, we witness a domestic scene, a tender moment where a grandfather lovingly engages with his grandchild, while other members of the family look on. However, in this historical context, domesticity can be understood as a site of both comfort and potential conflict, especially considering the emerging gender roles of the time. Is this image simply a nostalgic rendering of family affection? Or is it a statement on the shifting dynamics of domestic life? What does it mean to represent familial affection, and what societal expectations are subtly reinforced or challenged through this depiction? The scene feels intimate, yet it's also a performance of familial bonds, made all the more poignant when we consider that it's captured through the detached medium of print. The act of looking itself becomes an engagement with these complex themes, and the lithograph holds the gaze of the viewer, inviting them into a dialogue on the nature of love, duty, and familial identity.