Bruegel Blog Post on Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

First OPTIC writing assignment of the year.


Pieter Bruegel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus is a breathtaking oil canvas painting with immense attention to detail and lighting. Despite Icarus’s impact in the water and his eventual death, the other people in the scene do not seem to notice, suggesting their lack of concern or interest.

The painting is aptly named, since it depicts a beautiful countryside coast and the literal fall of Icarus. Bruegel probably included the “Fall of Icarus” in the title to make certain that his audience notices Icarus’s inconspicuous dangling legs in the bottom right. The “fall” signifies his death due to his naivety and inexperience, and his plummet from the sky. Starting from the middle, in the foreground, is a farmer wearing a bright red shirt, the first eye catcher of the painting, since nowhere else in the scene is there an object that is as vivid. It sticks out in a way, compared to all the dark and yellow colors in the image. The farmer moves to the left, plowing his field with the help of his horse. The surrounding foliage to the left of the farmer, especially the blooming trees with few leaves, seems to imply that it is spring, a season commonly associated with rebirth and renewal. Behind the farmer is a shepherd in blue with a walking stick and his herding dog. While seemingly in the middle of guiding his flock of sheep, he stares up to the upper left corner, possibly noticing the faint black shapes of the two birds flying overhead. Realizing that he can never be anything else but a simple shepherd, he probably dreams about being able to fly – a dream that comes true for Daedalus and Icarus. In the bottom right, a red-headed man in a white shirt sits on the edge of the water, extending his arm into the water as if to recover something he dropped. Nearby in front of the man is Icarus’s ill-fated end. Moments before, the boy had flown too close to the sun, causing his artificial wax wings to melt, sending him plunging into the water. The splash however, seems insignificant when the whole scene is taken into account. Bruegel must be emphasizing the incident as a petty occurrence. In agreement, the farmer, shepherd, and red-headed man continue with their actions, apparently not aware of Icarus’s splash. Towards the background and the sea, several ships and boats maneuver in the water, sails blown by the high winds. Some of the ships look like galleons, ships frequently used for commerce and trade. To the left in the background is a small coastal village with the appearance of several stucco buildings. The adjacent sea and land seem to engulf the pale village, camouflaging it in the painting. Below the village and towards the viewer is a curious dark grey stone formation covering an entire little island. The structure, perhaps manmade but destroyed and abandoned, has a small black door-shaped hole, most likely indicating an entrance. To the left and right of the village, as well as surrounding the sea on the right, are faint outlines of mountains. On the horizon line of the glimmering water, a setting sun emits its last rays, bathing the entire landscape in a lively, warm, golden glow, as if to console mortals on Earth after punishing Icarus’s impatience. The clouds above reflect much of the rays, creating the form of a large gold ball blended into the pastel blue sky. It is interesting to note that Icarus’s wings melted when he flew too high and too close to the sun, according to Ovid’s interpretation of the myth in his poem, Metamorphoses. However, the painting clearly shows a setting sun. It also does not include a representation of Daedalus. Perhaps Bruegel wanted to accentuate and focus on just Icarus and his demise, and the concurrent scenery of that exact moment.

Through the painting, Bruegel seems to express the indifference of the world and the people that inhabit it. For instance, if someone dies, the world could care less about the loss of one person. In the painting, irony ensues and captures this apathy. The sun gives warmth and light to the hard-working people below, even as it begins to disappear for the night. Continuing their tasks, the farmer and shepherd benefit from the last remaining traces of the sun allowing them to work just a bit more and make a better living, as little as it is. Ironically, the sun had just melted Icarus’s wings, for the young boy enjoyed the feeling of flight too much, and to the dismay of his father, flew too high. Even though Icarus crashes into the water, likely making a big splash, absolutely no one in the picture takes notice. A ship even seems to pass by Icarus’s thrashing legs! Judging from the ship’s sails, the wind seems to try its best blowing the ship away from Icarus. In addition, the workers in the scene are preoccupied with their lives, and care more about completing the jobs required to survive, rather than gawk at and dream about mortals who dared challenge the realm of the gods. This sin of defying the gods and denying gravity is looked down upon, according to Bruegel, for the world would not notice if someone achieved such a feat. Instead, the euphoria of something that humans were not made to experience, in this case, flight, is a crime that will charge the perpetrator a serious cost – Icarus’s own life and Daedalus’s loss of his son.

If humans don’t even care about others gaining godly powers and careening into ruin, there is much wonder as to what effect the downfall of gods would cause. Although faith and religion exist to explain natural phenomenon and to give people reason and hope in living, even the most ardent of worshippers will not take notice of an angel who has fallen in front of him when all he is concerned with is putting food on his family’s dinner table. Bruegel does a fine job of conveying this subtle truth in his painting alluding the famous Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus.