Disarming Cupid 

Guillaume Seignac painted this sentimental scene, entitled 'Disarming Cupid,' in France at the turn of the 20th century. Here, a mother gently relieves her son, the mythological god of love, of his bow and arrows. Images of idealised motherhood were very popular at this time, particularly in the established institutions of the French Salon. Seignac’s paintings perfectly suited this conservative taste. A modern viewer might see the sentimental tone of such images as reinforcing the social status quo. In its classical setting, the painting evokes a long, unbroken tradition of idealized love and beauty in Western art. Historians of art are less interested in simply recording those traditions than in exploring the changing social functions of art, and the visual codes that are used to create meaning. For those of us who are interested in understanding the world through the lens of art, the most important lessons are often learned by looking beyond the purely aesthetic.