In Le Mauvais Sentier, Louis Janmot presents a haunting allegory of temptation and spiritual peril. Two barefoot girls, one comforting the other, ascend a long, narrow staircase carved into a rocky cliffside. On their right, a series of cloaked male figures—priests, scholars, and judges—emerge solemnly from wall niches, some watching with scrutiny, others indifferent. The figures blend into the stone, giving them an eerie, sculptural presence. At the end of the row, a skeletal form awaits, symbolizing the end of the soul’s missteps. Janmot uses dramatic lighting and harsh architectural lines to underscore the weight of moral choices and the isolating path of corruption.