The Lament for Icarus 1898

Herbert James Draper painted ‘The Lament for Icarus’ using oil on canvas, sometime around 1898. Draper used the traditional material of oil paint to capture a classical subject, yet his approach was radical for its time. The luminosity of the piece is achieved through thin layers of oil paint, applied with great care, to depict the smooth, soft skin of the sea nymphs and the dramatic wings of Icarus. The artist's hand is evident in the brushwork, creating subtle gradations of color that give a sense of depth and volume to the figures. Draper was working at a time when academic painting was giving way to impressionism, and a new emphasis on materiality and the artist’s touch was valued. The subject of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and fell to his death, is itself an allusion to human ambition and the limitations of our physical bodies, and a warning against hubris in the face of industry. While rooted in the past, Draper's technique and subject matter spoke to a society on the cusp of great change. By attending to both materials and context, we can fully appreciate this artwork’s meaning.