Sacred and Profane Love

François Du Quesnoy made a name for himself with a number of 'inventions' which largely feature young children. Staying true to the classical tendency, he opted to use a small number of figures and a single plane in his compositions, exhibiting a thorough knowledge of Antiquity. This bas-relief narrates three phases of an episode: the struggle between sacred love and profane love (climax), provoked by the stolen bow (prologue), which takes place in the presence of witnesses. A winner and a loser emerge, and the winner is appropriately rewarded (epilogue). The story was inspired by Book VI of the Imagines, by Philostratus, although Du Quesnoy added a number of details from his own imagination.
The bas-relief is the sculptural medium which best lends itself to narrative and can, furthermore, be adapted for architectural use, which explains its frequent use in the buildings of Antiquity.