During Janez Šubic’s studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, he took a long sabbatical through Italy with a long layover in Rome (1874‒1877), where he produced several small-format studies, imbued with representations of the old masters. Even the ancients depicted playful scenes from everyday life with Venus and Cupid as the protagonists, for instance of her playing with him, of her comforting Cupid when he burns himself with a torch, or when Cupid is helping her lace her sandals or holding a mirror up for her, as is the case in this painting. The motifs remained popular throughout the centuries, including among the great Venetian painters of the 16th century, including Tizian and Paolo Veronese, whose influence Šubic studied well.