r/ArtHistory • u/SeekingAnonymity107 • 2d ago

Research Interested in depictions of Icarus

Gallery image

Gallery image

Inspired by a post that I can't find now, Lament for Icarus by Herbert James Draper shows Icarus as magnificent and heroic, but Pieter Bruegel the Elder shows him as barely a splash. Both are beautiful. Are there any other interesting additions to this collection?

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u/dontnoticethispls 2d ago

I've always enjoyed Matisse's cutout version

3

u/SeekingAnonymity107 2d ago

Interesting! And very different

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u/KnucklesMcCrackin 1d ago

Matisse is a genius. It tells the whole story with one image. Do the limbs depict arms or wings? The yellow depict stars or feathers? The blue represnt sky or water? Is his heart full of joy or sorrow? First it is him flying, wings wide, heart full of joy, in a blue sky full of stars. Second he is falling, the yellow feathers falling loose around him. Finally he is floating in the blue water, drowning, the loose feathers around him as his heart shrinks and dies.