Amor schietend met pijl en boog

A muscular winged putto hovers within a sky of stylized, swirling clouds, drawing his bow to release an arrow toward the world below. This engraving is a study of a figure from Raphael’s fresco cycle in the Villa Farnesina, which depicts the story of Cupid and Psyche. The artist employs dense hatching and curved lines to emphasize the three-dimensional form and movement of the figure.

In the Neoplatonic tradition of the Renaissance, Cupid represents the intermediary power of Eros that draws the soul toward divine beauty. The myth of Cupid and Psyche was interpreted by philosophers as an allegory for the human soul's descent into the material world and its eventual ascent to spiritual union.