Sweet Homecoming, or Returning from School. Paired with the print Blue Monday, or Going Off to School. 1790. Coloured mezzotint

In the sentimental art of the Age of Enlightenment, children were portrayed everywhere, but in England a certain pedagogical nuance was added to the emphasis on the fact that they were loved.
Thus, in the first picture, a family that appreciates innovative, kindly and child-friendly pedagogy gather to send their boys off to school, comforting the youngest, providing the middle son with friendly advice and distributing cakes to them all. In the second picture of the pair, the boys returning from school are joyfully greeted on the steps of the home: a kiss for the youngest, a friendly outstretched hand for the older ones and smiles for everyone. Excitement is added to the scene by the dog – a symbol of loyalty – leaping around the young master.

John Jones (1740–1797) was an English graphic artist working in London who, by cultivating coloured mezzotints and stipple painting, was able to masterfully mediate the art of painting.
William Redmore Bigg (1755–1828), who created the original painting, was also an English painter who worked in London.