The relief is a revised version of one from 1809. The motif is taken from a poem by Anacreon describing how Cupid is one day stung by a bee as he is about to pluck a rose, after which he runs crying and seeking comfort from his mother. However, her only reply is to put the question to him: “If the bee sting hurts you so much, then how much do you think those people suffer who are struck by your arrows?”
