Getting out of Chaos or Genesis Sortie du Chaos ou la Genèse (2008) Painting by Valérie Voinchet

My canvass

My picture calls back the history with portraits and, through glances’ games, evokes the relationships between the gods. Ouranos kissing Gaïa symbolizes the birth of the human gods. Below are their children Saturn and Cybil. His fake smile evokes the defeated leader whereas by his side, Cybil embraces her offspring with a fond glance. Titanides, who remained neutral during the titanomachy, are invited for the family photo. Thétis invades the canvass’ background with her hair representing the rivers of her kingdom; Thémis, goddess of the justice, Mnémosyne, goddess of the memory and Phoebe, goddess of the divinatory arts are also present.

Because they helped Jupiter during the war, a Cyclope and one of the three hécatonchire are also invited. The evocation of the gigantomachy and the violence of this attack is shown through a monochromatic representation of some of the giants. They are presented in action : Alcyonée is leading the conflict, whereas Encelade tries to avoid Minerva, one of Jupiter’s daughter; Pallas also defeated by Minerva shouts for pain while she takes his skin off of him to then transform it into an armor and Porphyrion roars when he is struck by Jupiter to have tried to rape Juno.

I placed the six Olympian gods in a rectangle: Jupiter stares at the spectator with a powerful glance, Juno, his wife, embraces him with a loving glance and hangs on jealously to him. Pluto deigned to go out of his kingdom to participate to the family picture; he is a little set back. He throws a resentful glance to his sister, Cerces of whom he kidnapped the daughter, Proserpine.
By way of reprisals, Cerces, goddess of agriculture, have stopped all kind of growth on Earth. She accepts to put an end to this monumental disorder in exchange of her daughter’s liberation. Thus, Jupiter interferes and orders a compromise: Proserpine would live six months in Pluto’s kingdom and the six remaining months of the year on Earth. To celebrate her daughter’s return, Cerces created the seasons, the autumn and the winter followed by the spring and by the summer, both seasons during which mother and daughter will together. On my Canvass, Cerces is examining the sky looking forward to the first signs announcing spring and reunion. Neptune, out of the seas, gives a look of greed at her sister Vesta, whom he would have want to have as partner before finally to marry Amphitrite. Vesta precisely watches only for the foyer which she is responsible for, symbolized by the flame of the candle. The goat Amalthea sits near Jupiter, whom she fed during his childhood. To thank her, the god creates the Abundance Horn that figures on the foreground of my composition.



The outstanding features of my portraits

The Cyclope and the Hecatonchire come from my imagination and I have replaced the “traditional” faces of the Gods by those of my close family circle: I have decided or took the liberty of making them look more “modern” or “contemporary”.
Reference to the legend is made through the glances among characters that are joined to each other by the feelings of love, friendship, grudge or hatred.

This work is also an exercise of style and composition centred in the portrait in a almost gigantic manner.

This picture portraits the protagonists of the creation of the world. Once this genealogy is installed, the Greco- Roman history can begin and give birth to other paintings…

Related themes

MythologieDieux De L'olympe