The Fall of Icarus 1636

Peter Paul Rubens painted this small oil on panel, The Fall of Icarus, sometime in the early 17th century. It depicts the moment when Icarus plummets into the sea, his homemade wings having failed him. Rubens was a leading figure in the Flemish Baroque, a style embraced in the Catholic regions of the Netherlands. Think about how the mythology of Icarus, a story of hubris and the dangers of overreaching, resonated in a society grappling with its own ambitions. The painting's composition, with Icarus tumbling downwards, conveys a sense of drama and dynamism typical of the Baroque. The loose brushwork and warm color palette also reflect Rubens’s characteristic style. A deeper understanding can be gained by examining period literature, religious texts, and economic data. What emerges is a portrait of an artist and his society that is richly complex.