Amor met pijl en boog 1811 - 1867

This print of Cupid with bow and arrow was made by Alphonse Boilly, likely in the early to mid-19th century. It is a lithograph, meaning it was made by drawing on a flat stone with a greasy crayon, then inking the stone and printing it onto paper. The lithographic process allowed for relatively quick reproduction, and that meant images like this could be widely disseminated. Boilly’s Cupid is not a unique work of art but a mass-produced object, a commodity in its own right. The print’s fine lines and delicate shading mimic the look of a drawing or engraving, but were much faster to produce, and could be made in larger numbers, thus capturing new markets. The use of lithography reflects a shift toward industrialization and mass consumption of art. It democratized image-making to some extent, but also transformed the artist’s role. The artist’s hand becomes less visible, and the emphasis shifts to the image itself. The making is no longer the point; distribution is.