Five Cupids Playing
1488
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1488
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This engraving shows five chubby baby Cupids playing with bows and arrows. They look like kids, but Cupids usually deliver love’s arrows. This print is small, about the size of a postcard. The lines are sharp and detailed, even though it’s metal. The artist used a trick called cross-hatching to shade the shadows. It’s like drawing with tiny lines. Look up "engraving" to see how this technique works.
