Blacksmith Cupids 1714 - 1739

Louis Desplaces made this print, "Blacksmith Cupids," sometime in the late 17th or early 18th century. It presents us with an ideal vision of labor and childhood. We see cupids in the forest playfully making arrows of love. Prints like these were not simply decorative. This was France, a hierarchical society in which images often reinforced prevailing social norms. The cupid was a popular trope, often seen in aristocratic paintings as a symbol of love, desire, and often, dynastic power. By depicting these cupids as blacksmiths, Desplaces perhaps comments on the nature of love as something that can be crafted, forged, and shaped through hard work. It suggests that love is not merely a matter of fate, but of active labor. The setting within a forest further enhances the narrative, evoking a sense of untamed nature being harnessed for the purpose of love. To truly understand this image, it is helpful to know about the prints industry in Paris and how images like these were circulated among different social classes. The imagery invites further study into the attitudes toward love, labor, and the role of art in shaping social perceptions during this period.