This is "Cupid and Psyche" (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) by Jacopo del Sellaio, from about 1473. Fifteen scenes from the same story are merged together, Psyche appearing 11 times. A tree in the foreground of one scene may form the background of another.
Time goes left-to-right along the lower part of the painting. Higher up, more liberties are taken. This style is called 'continuous narrative' - because, I suppose, there are no dividing lines between the different scenes/times.
I think it's an idea that's sometimes replicated in poetry, the same phrase representing a cause in one moment of time, and an effect in another. Recall and foreboding are intermixed with the present.
It's attempted in prose too. I've looked at this in more detail in an article about Molly McCloskey's "A Nuclear Adam and Eve" - a short story that jumps back and forth in time, as hinted by its title.
My story collection "By All Means" (ISBN 978-0-9570984-9-7), published by Nine Arches Press, is on sale from
My poetry pamphlet "Moving Parts" (ISBN 978-1-905939-59-6) is out now, on sale at the
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