Venus, Wounded by Diomedes, is Saved by Iris

Joseph-Marie Vien's Venus, Wounded by Diomedes, is Saved by Iris of 1775 shows one of the founding figures of French Neoclassicism applying his reformed pictorial language to a subject from Homer's Iliad. In Book V, Diomedes wounds Venus with his spear when she tries to save her son Aeneas on the battlefield; Iris, goddess of the rainbow, rescues her. Vien had spent many years in Rome and returned to Paris as the teacher of Jacques-Louis David and the principal advocate for replacing Rococo frivolity with the serious authority of the antique. This painting shows him working confidently within that program: classical figures, restrained color, clear narrative action. The Columbus Museum of Art's picture is an important example of the transitional moment between Rococo and mature French Neoclassicism.

Vien employs a cleaner, more linear figure style than his Rococo predecessors, with forms defined by contour rather than atmospheric blending. The palette is controlled and dignified rather than brilliant. Drapery follows classical models rather than contemporary fashion, and the figures are posed in relief-like arrangements that signal his archaeological interests.