Venus gets closer but doesn't get brighter

Venus is a very bright object in the evening sky at the moment. Having a closer orbit to the Sun, it takes less time to go round and so comes past us on the inside. It is doing just that at the moment. It is approaching its closest point which is when it will be exactly between us and the Sun. Normally objects get brighter as they get closer. But we will be more and more looking at the back of the planet so it will be darker and darker. Hence Venus won't get brighter as it gets closer - it should stay at the same brightness as it goes past.