Cupid Dancing with Two Allegorical Women

Paulus Moreelse was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, architect and urban planner. Printmaking was not one of the artist’s primary pursuits; only two chiaroscuro woodcuts, both dated 1612, are attributed to Moreelse. The present print, “Cupid Dancing with Two Allegorical Women,” was composed with two blocks: a gray tone block and a key block providing black outlines. Although the subject may seem lighthearted, the decorative garland overhead featuring monkeys, a bat, and a goat’s head, suggests a more sinister theme about the risks of luxury and lust.