Vleermuis met Amor in buikholte 1866

This is an undated drawing by Michel Liénard, featuring pen and black ink, with the work titled "Vleermuis met Amor in buikholte." Immediately, you're confronted with a grotesque yet fascinating composition. A bat, wings spread, dominates the scene, but its belly is disturbingly transparent, revealing Cupid trapped inside. The fine lines of the ink create a stark contrast between the smooth texture of the bat's wings and the rough, almost chaotic rendering of its body and the creatures hanging off it: a frog and other grotesque figures. The structure of the drawing is intriguing. The bat serves as a central, anchoring form, while the creatures dangle like ornaments, disrupting any sense of classical symmetry. This disruption could signify the destabilization of traditional notions of love and beauty, as the trapped Cupid suggests love is not free, but captive within darker, more primal forces. The semiotic weight of the bat, a symbol often associated with darkness and the unconscious, cannot be ignored here. Notice how Liénard’s precise technique heightens the tension between the monstrous and the allegorical. This tension forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about desire, power, and the human condition.