The Story of Psyche: panel 4. The Vengeance of Venus 1908

This scene of Venus’s vengeance was painted by Maurice Denis, we don’t know exactly when, and likely with oil on canvas. Look at the colors! It’s a landscape of pastel pinks, greens, and blues, playing out this story of punishment and possible redemption. I can imagine Denis, balancing precariously on a ladder, carefully applying thin layers of paint. Was he trying to get across the emotions of the scene, to depict these figures caught in a moment of high drama? Look how Venus points downwards, as if to condemn Psyche. The way Denis layers the composition— placing the figures within the columns and the landscape—is a window into this narrative. The Pre-Raphaelites, the Nabis, and so many others were all grappling with similar questions of symbolism and representation. We can see how artists of the period were in constant conversation, each inspiring and challenging the other’s vision. Painting always involves trying, failing, trying again…embracing ambiguity in the process.