Amor geprikt door een roos 1863 - 1883

Johann Wilhelm Friedrich Kachel created this lithograph, Amor geprikt door een roos, sometime in the mid-19th century. The neutral tonality, precise lines, and smooth gradations give it a sculptural quality reminiscent of Neoclassical aesthetics. At first glance, the image presents a classical Cupid on a plinth, seemingly pondering an injury from a rose. A closer look reveals that the piece engages in complex semiotic play. Note how the Cupid is framed by a subtle arch which gives it a sense of architectural monumentality. Observe that the inscription 'Nulla Rose sine spina' on the plinth underscores a tension between beauty and pain, desire and suffering. The artist uses the Cupid as a signifier for human emotion and experience. Kachel seems to destabilize conventional narratives of love. Rather than glorifying romantic ideals, he presents it as intertwined with vulnerability and harm. The precise linework contrasts with the emotional complexity of the subject, suggesting an attempt to rationalize or contain the unpredictable aspects of human emotion within a structured form. What we are left with is an image that invites continuous questioning.