Venus Comforting Cupid Stung by a Bee. 1860. Oil

Unfortunately, love is not always accompanied by joy, but also sometimes by lovesickness. Since love can be as sweet as honey, the pain associated with it is comparable to a bee sting. Little Cupid, who is seeking comfort from his mother, has just been stung, i.e. is suffering from unrequited love or jealousy.
The theme dates back to antiquity, when the Greek poet Theocritus (3rd cent. B. C.) described the little god of love complaining to his mother about his unsuccessful theft of honey. Due to the interest of Renaissance artists in classical literature, this motif arrived in the fine arts.

Carl Timoleon von Neff (1804–1877) was a Baltic German painter who worked primarily in St. Petersburg, as a professor at the local art academy and as Nicholas I’s court painter.
Benjamin West (1738–1820), who created the original painting, was an Anglo-American painter who worked in Philadelphia, New York, Rome and London, and became famous for his historical paintings, including ones with classical mythological themes.