Venus, Injured by Diomedes, Returns to Olympus

Venus Injured by Diomedes Returns to Olympus from 1805 at the Kunstmuseum Basel depicts an episode from the Iliad where Venus is wounded in battle and flees to Mount Olympus. Ingres's early mythological painting shows his Neo-classical training applied to Homeric subject matter. Ingres built his oil surfaces through meticulous underdrawing in graphite, then applied smooth, controlled layers that eliminated all visible brushwork—a deliberate rejection of the painterly Romantic style of Delacroix.

The dynamic composition captures the goddess's flight with classical restraint. Ingres's smooth handling and precise contours render the mythological figures with idealized beauty.