This work, skilfully painted in monochrome, is halfway between a painting and a drawing.  It is one of the models for medallions to adorn a tapestry, la tenture des Métamorphoses (the wall hanging of the Metamorphoses), inserted in the decorative edges as a trompe-l’œil.  Boucher had just been appointed a director of the Gobelins and was dealing with a commission for Madame de Pompadour.  He has skilfully taken advantage of the restrictive format by expressing the scene in a most simple and dramatic way.