Something has gone terribly wrong. A putto is shackled to a rocky outcropping. In his left hand is an arrow. He looks on in distress as another putto breaks his bow with his knee. Did the putto being punished shoot the wrong lover?
Lorenzo Loli was a Bolognese artist who trained with Guido Reni and Giovanni Andrea Sirani. He made a number of prints based on their designs, including this etching from a series of playful images of putti after drawings by Sirani. Putti, naked boys, and angels were among his favored subjects.
