Saturn auf Wolken sitzend, Amor hält die Sense 

Annibale Carracci made this drawing of Saturn and Cupid with pen and ink, probably in Bologna, sometime around 1600. Here, we see a melancholic Saturn sitting on a cloud, his head resting on his hand in a pose of thoughtful contemplation. Cupid is beside him, holding Saturn's scythe, the very instrument of time's destructive power. Carracci was a key figure in the Bolognese School, which sought to reform painting by returning to classical ideals. In this drawing, the artist presents us with an allegory of time and love, a popular theme in the Renaissance. The image evokes the influence of humanist thought on the art of the period, and reminds us that the artist's project of imitation involves choices that reflect the social and intellectual values of a particular time and place. To further understand this artwork, we might look at emblems, illustrated books, and treatises on mythology that circulated in the 16th and 17th centuries.