Speelen van Cupido 1690

This is an engraving called ‘Speelen van Cupido,’ or ‘The Games of Cupid,’ made in Haarlem in 1690 by Margareta van Bancken. It depicts the activities of Cupid, the god of love, across 24 scenes. Van Bancken was the widow of the printer Theunis Dircksz, so this print was probably produced in her workshop. The scenes themselves are playful, even mischievous, showing Cupid hunting, playing games, and generally disrupting human affairs. Representations of Cupid like these had a long history in European art. The imagery speaks to a culture deeply invested in classical mythology, but here the gods are brought down to earth, made accessible through popular prints like these. Prints were a vital medium in 17th-century Netherlands, and were often produced by women, who were excluded from other areas of artistic production. To understand the role of women in printmaking, and the dissemination of classical imagery in the early modern period, scholars often consult archival records, inventories, and of course, the prints themselves.