Cupid's Hunting Fields

This piece, in which a blindfolded Cupid shoots arrows at his female quarry, is a fascinating combination of painting and sculpture. The technique, in which gesso is built up on a flat panel to create a relief image and then decorated with oil and gold paint, is quite unusual. The combination of media is reflective of the close relationship between fine and decorative arts fostered by the Arts and Crafts Movement. Burne-Jones was active as a designer for Morris and Company, and in fact created a set of tiles and a tapestry in which the same subject is featured.