Sharpening up their arrows in preparation for 'the hunt'.

The sharpening stone is very accurately painted with a foot pedal, a bar connecting the pedal to the eccentric on the stone wheel, and with the assistant putto even delicately dripping water onto the stone from a scallop shell.  The antique statuary behind the putti is painted carefully, with each aspect precisely represented.  Such accuracy and attention to minute detail is characteristic of a painter of the stature and experience of François Boucher.