Venus neemt een pijl van Amor 1697 - 1739

Editor: So, this is "Venus Takes an Arrow from Cupid," an engraving by Louis Desplaces, dating somewhere between 1697 and 1739. The figures feel so dynamic, yet there’s this quiet stillness too. How do you interpret this work? What feelings does it conjure up for you? Curator: The dance between beauty and power, right? Venus disarming Cupid… it’s playful, maybe even a bit cheeky. The Baroque loved this kind of allegory. The curves, the drama of the drapery, it all speaks to that era's fascination with grandeur and emotion. The landscape too! It is never just a landscape, right? What does it bring up in you, that stage-set quality behind them? Editor: A sense of artifice, maybe? Like life imitating artifice. That tension between naturalism and theatricality feels very potent here. Do you think it’s a comment on love itself – its inherent drama? Curator: Perhaps! Love as both tender and a calculated performance… Maybe it's a reflection on control, on who holds the upper hand in relationships. It makes you wonder, doesn’t it, if Cupid’s actually being disarmed, or if he's willingly surrendering. After all, Momma knows best. Editor: It’s like a power struggle, a seductive game! This has definitely shifted my perspective. Thank you! Curator: Mine too! It's always so enriching to let a new voice bounce around an old piece and change the lighting.