Victorian Cupid Angel Love Greeting Card Chromolithograph

What immediately strikes a modern viewer is that Cupid has apparently forgotten his arrows and is instead clutching his bow like a toddler gripping a pool noodle, draped in a wisp of golden fabric that is doing absolutely nothing, seated cross-legged on a rocky outcropping surrounded by suspiciously cheerful blue flowers. His curly-haired, rosy-cheeked cherub face wears the expression of someone who has seen things — specifically, the look of a child who just heard adults talking and understood every word. The translucent little wings sprouting from his back are, scientifically speaking, incapable of lifting so much as a bad mood, let alone a chubby Renaissance baby. 'To my Love,' declares the gold cursive text, as if commissioning a semi-nude winged toddler portrait was the most romantic thing a Victorian could imagine, which, horrifyingly, it was.