Phaethon 1878

Gustave Moreau painted ‘Phaeton’ in the late 19th century, using oil on canvas. It depicts the dramatic fall of Phaeton, son of the sun god Helios, who disastrously attempted to drive his father's chariot across the sky. The painting is awash with a complex layering of oil paint, applied with brushes and perhaps rags, to create a vibrant, almost chaotic surface. Moreau skillfully uses the fluidity of the paint to convey the scene's cataclysmic energy, from the radiant bursts of sunlight to the dark, swirling forms of the collapsing chariot and mythical creatures. The texture varies from smooth, luminous passages to rough, impastoed areas, enhancing the dramatic effect. Moreau's technique resonates with the traditional practices of academic painting, yet the painting's raw, almost unfinished quality pushes beyond conventional fine art. The sheer amount of physical work involved in layering paint to such a degree reflects an almost obsessive devotion to his craft. Ultimately, ‘Phaeton’ reminds us that even in the most ethereal of subjects, the physical act of creation, the material engagement, grounds the work in human experience.