Cupid as a Honey Thief
1531
In this delightfully mischievous 1531 Renaissance masterpiece, a chubby, winged Cupid stands completely naked, looking utterly distressed as angry bees crawl across his forehead, shoulder, and arm. Clutching a stolen piece of honeycomb, the little god of love is getting a taste of his own medicine after raiding a beehive. Lucas Cranach the Elder based this scene on an ancient Greek poem where Venus teases her son: even though he is as small as a bee, the painful arrows of love he shoots cause far more suffering than a simple sting!