Children's Game 1664 - 1739

Pierre Parrocel rendered this etching, "Children's Game", sometime between 1664 and 1739. Here, a cluster of putti, or cherubic children, engage in what appears to be a lively game. The gesture of covering one's eyes, as seen on the left, is a powerful motif echoing across centuries. We find it in ancient depictions of shame or fear, and it reappears in Renaissance paintings to convey grief. In Parrocel's work, it could represent a playful attempt to hide or a genuine moment of childish distress. This motif also calls to mind the myth of the Gorgon whose gaze turns men to stone, where shielding the eyes is an act of self-preservation. Observe the "blind man's bluff" figure on the right, shrouded in cloth. This image evokes feelings of the uncanny, blending innocence with something unsettling, tapping into our collective memories of vulnerability and surprise. Each element pulls on a thread of cultural memory, revealing a deep, cyclical pattern.