The latest work in Michael Corner's Artifice series is Painting T, the twentieth work in an astounding collection of oil paintings that juxtapose the work of the Old Masters with Corner's created environments.

In the background of Painting T, Corner has replicated the painting The Death of Adonis (c. 1614) by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens. A tragic scene unfolds as the goddess Venus, at left, holds the dying body of her mortal lover Adonis, who has had a fatal encounter with a wild boar. Surrounding Venus are three Graces and Cupid, and they mourn together as she holds the head of her lover in her hands. Two dogs, unfazed, sniff at Adonis' blood.

Corner's figures seem to be, much like the dogs, unfazed by the drama unfolding behind them. At left, a male figure lifts his feet, draped in pink furs and holding a glass of nectar as if he is toasting the viewer. Despite his calmness, the mourning Venus could just as well be holding his head in her hands. At right, another male, sharply dressed, calmly vacuums beneath his feet, the weeping Cupid looking over his shoulder.

A strange scene of seemingly calm domesticity, it is another carefully crafted scene by Corner. The artist includes many small details and symbols like treasures, waiting to be unearthed by his audience. While we don't know the exact relationship between the two men, a dynamic unfolds in contrast to the figures of Venus, the goddess of fertility and love, and Adonis, the ideal of male beauty. Questions of gender roles, relationships, and the human experience permeate the painting, another masterpiece by Corner that continues to unfold the more you consider it.