Bruegel, Pieter Landscape with the Fall of Icarus c. 1558 Oil on canvas
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OPTIC. I find Walter Pauk’s theory quite useful when writing about an image.[1] The AP Art History Course also uses this Acronym as a successful approach to writing about visual art. I have adapted it here with further commentary and explanation in light of your specific goals.
Post your writing in the comment box with the following five categories. You will receive full credit (20 points) for one thousand words. (15 points) for 750 words. (10 points) for 500 words. (5 points) for 250 words. You are eventually going to have to write a longer paper and you will thank your future self for the writing you did here because you will be able to pull from it later.
- Overview: Conduct an Overview of the visual or graphic. I recommend an extensive brainstorming process here.
- Parts: Key in on the Parts of the visual by noting any elements or details that seem important. The old cliché goes “a picture is worth a thousand words”, which translates to about three pages. I think this is a good rule of thumb, but by no means a fixed rule. Describe what you see. Where do your eyes go to first? Then what? Follow the natural progress of where your eyes go. Give as much detail as possible.
- Title: Explain the Title (if one is present) and its relation to the piece of art. E
ven an “untitled piece” may tell you about the artist’s aesthetic.
- Interrelationships: Use the title, or your theory, and the parts of the visual as your clues to detect and specify the Interrelationships in the graphic. In other words, this is where you develop your thesis about the image and connect ideas.
- Conclusion: Draw a Conclusion about the piece as a whole.
Period 7 post here. Period 7 post here. Period 7 post here. Due on Tuesday October 9th.
23 comments:
In Pieter Brueghel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, you see a lot of different things going on in the picture. In the painting there are three characters going on about their everyday life when they see Deadalus and Icarus flying above them and they think that they are gods. The painting has a lot of different colors in it some are very bright, others are pale. Everything that is happening in the painting is taking place on an island.
In the painting, there is this little brick house in the middle of the ocean it looks like the place where Icarus and his father escaped from. As Icarus was falling down from the sky none of the people who saw him and his father fly noticed that he fell in the water. The reason that they didn’t see him fall is probably because as they said in the poem, the sea hushed him as he fell in the water. At the bottom right of the panting you see Icarus drowning in the water head in first. He drowned because his father tells him not to fly too high and not too fly too low because his wings are made out of wax and that they can melt if they’re near the sun.
Icarus does not listen to his father and it results to his death in the end in the myth. In the painting you see someone herding sheeps maybe it’s the summer or spring. There is a man fishing and there is another man with a horse. There are a lot of boats in the sea and they are probably fishing or sailing. The first thing that caught my eye was Icarus falling in the water at the bottom right corner in the painting. There was a man fishing at that same area, but he didn’t see Icarus fall. I think that the reason he didn’t see Icarus fall was because the sea hushed him. Another reason for Icarus’ death might be because the gods are punishing his father for what he did to his sister’s son. In the picture where Icarus is drowning there is something in the water near the man that is fishing it looks like a frog or a tree branch.
It looks like the people who are going on about their business don’t live on Crete’s island or kingdom. In the painting it looks to me like if you want to go somewhere you have to travel by boat which is why there are a lot of boats in the water. The man in the white shirt near where Icarus is falling looks like he is trying to save Icarus from drowning but he can’t get to him because Icarus is too far from him. In the boat that is near Icarus, I think that there is someone trying to reach out to him to but just like the fisherman he is too far to get near him and try and save him before he drowns all the way in the water. I noticed that in the painting most of the water is really clear and bright and shiny, but where Icarus is drowning the water is very dark and brown. I think that the gods made the water come alive and kind of grabbed Icarus in and did it in a hushed tone so that no one would hear it.
In the water where the sun is rising I see a little island. I think that this is where Deadalus and Icarus were flying to but they didn’t get there because Icarus drowned. I think that the reason why the author put the word “Landscape” in the title is because Deadalus and Icarus were trying to escape away from the island of Crete, where they were being held as prisoners because of Deadalus’ brilliant mind. I also noticed that in most parts of the painting, it is very bright and colorful, but where Icarus is drowning everything seems to be getting darker by the minute or so. Even the sky is starting to loose its bright yellow color and turning into a dark gray mixed with blue, yellow, and orange. I would say that the only reason where the man with the sheeps and the man with horse are bright is because there probably is some kind of light shining on top of them, guiding them in what they are doing. And it looks like they aren’t really paying any attention to what is happening to Icarus either. I think that the image expresses a lot of things, and emotions. For example where there is brightness in the painting that place is a happy place, where there is darkness, that place is a sad place. Most of the painting is sad because darkness falls over the island and its all because of Icarus’ fall from the sky. And it looks like the people feel like they are being punished for someone else’s mistake.
So in conclusion I think that what happens in most of the painting is because of Icarus’ death. How he didn’t listen to his father and got himself drowned. And when he drowned, it started to get dark everywhere on the island. And how the fisherman and the man on the boat weren’t able to save him is because he was a foolish child trying to impress his father by showing him that he could fly without his help. I think that the point of the myth is that we should always listen to our elders even if we don’t want to they are only looking out for us. They only have our best interest at heart, and will always be there for us when we need something even if we don’t want them to be around us most of the time. But in Icarus’ case, his father only gave him directions on how to fly and went about his business not watching what his son was doing causing him to die in the end.
In the image the fall with Icarus the image is showing the nature that is where they are. And its also showing the people who seems so busy and never noticed the drowning kid in the sea. This also showing the man vs. nature, this means they cannot be easily go through it, the sea, the mountains and the sun. Because Icarus didn’t follow what Daedalus said that’s what happened the sun melted his wings and the sea hushed him.
I think everything in the image showing is important. First the nature, they are encountering nature they used the sky because its open but they are facing downfall. And the sun and the sea, as Daedalus warned Icarus to fly in mid air and don’t fly too high because the sun will melt his wings and don’t fly too low and the sea will wet his wings and make it heavy. And then the farmer, and the shepherd is showing that they are busy of they are doing and didn’t noticed him drowning. Nature looks so beautiful and dangerous, the farm and mountains they look so relaxing and free but when we look at the sea and the sky looks so clear but don’t be so sure if you are sure that you are safe because no matter how fun flying in the sky there’s a sea and land waiting for your downfall. But the most important part of the image is which the legs of Icarus in the sea and drowning and because of the people seems so busy they didn’t noticed him. And there is a tiny thing in the mountain it looks like a bird and it must be Daedalus flying. And might be looking for him.
The title “landscape with the fall of icarus” it means the nature where they are and showing the tragedy of Icarus fell from the sky. The landscape is showing the nature and Icarus drowning in the sea.
The image is saying that fighting with nature is not that easy and it is also showing that no matter how beautiful it is it doesn’t mean it is safe. In the real life we cannot be easily go everywhere without facing danger everything we might don’t know that we are safe. Example when we are in a beautiful island and it seems so beautiful and safe but if we did something we might be put ourselves in danger when suddenly there’s a wild deadly animals in there or the place is getting the lives of the people who had been in the place. Accident is happening anytime anywhere.
In Pieter Bruegel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, there are many things going on all at once. Every person in the painting is going about their everyday business and don’t even acknowledge the fact that Icarus is drowning in the far right corner. The people are looking in every direction except at where Icarus had happened to fall. The city is in a far distance away from all the commotion too. Its like the painter didn’t want anyone to find Icarus or know what happened to him. The painter uses a unique way portraying the painting because on the left side of the painting he uses dark colors. Even in the water where Icarus falls is a dark shade of color. Its almost like the painter didn’t want the viewers of the painting to notice Icarus either. But the city and the mountains on the other hand are filled with color and light from the sun. I guess he wanted the viewer to focus more on that.
The one thing that really sticks out of the entire painting is the color of the mans shirt. Red is a significant color. Red usually means love, blood, and death. In this case its most likely means death and it probably is relating to Icarus’ death. But the man doesn’t show his face. I think this man might be a god in disguise. The god’s already know what is going to happen to Icarus because he went against the laws of nature and of coarse against the gods. But there is also another man in the painting who is actually facing in the direction of Icarus and it actually looks like he is pointing at the water where Icarus is drowning but he’s not. This man has red hair which could possibly mean that he is a god too and wants to get a better look at Icarus and his misery. If it was any other human being, they would most likely jump into the water and try to save a person that is drowning. But the fact that he is so close and doesn’t even attempt to save Icarus is kind of weird. Both of the god know that Icarus’ death was near because he and his father went against them.
There is also a small cave in the middle of the ocean. This could be where Minos sent Icarus and his father to exile. Which would make sense because in the epic poem they both fly over a Shepard and he thinks that they are gods. And in the painting the Shepard is looking up into the sky with confusion. He could be look at Icarus’ father flying above him. While Icarus’ father is looking down on his son drowning. In the painting the Shepard has 2 black sheep. Black sheep usually signify an outsider. I think the sheep are significant to Icarus and his father. This could mean two things. One it could mean that Icarus and his father were outsiders to the rest of the world because they were put on an island to live by themselves where no one could be around them. A black sheep could also mean someone that causes problems. The sheep could signify just Icarus. How he disobeyed what his father told him to do. His father told him not to fly too high because the sun will melt the wax on the wing. And he told him not to fly too low because the water from the ocean will catch it. But Icarus took what his father told him as nothing. It just went through one ear and out the other. Which put him in a tough situation in the end. This could also go back to when Icarus’ father killed his nephew. Icarus’ father could be one of the black sheep. Icarus’ father killed his nephew because he was intelligent and was smarter then him. Icarus’ father really couldn’t except this fact and killed his nephew. But he told everyone that he fell and died. Which caused problems in the family. In the epic poem his nephew relives his life as a partridge. And comes back to his cousins burial and is dancing around Icarus’ father in way telling him what goes around comes around.
In the distance of the city there is one lonely bird flying by himself. This might be Icarus’ father looking furiously for Icarus. He is flying over the mountains and the ocean into the sun. Or it could be that he finally made it back to the city that he was desperately missing and just couldn’t wait to get there. He didn’t even realize that he had left his son behind until it was too late and there was nothing he could do about. I think its kind of ironic that the sun melts the wax off the wings because in the picture the sun is setting. Its almost like the sun has done its deed and it ok for it to set. Now all the sun has left to do is have its light peek over the horizon and shine over the ocean and the city. Its almost like Icarus and his father picked a wrong time to escape from their misery. If they only waited a few moments for the sun to set Icarus would have made it home with his father.
In this painting a there is so many theories that you can put together. In the painting I think everyone and everything is apart of Icarus’ death. I think everyone was out to get him. But I don’t think the reason was just Icarus not listening to his father. I think the god just wanted revenge for what his father had done. Its almost like the gods knew before hand what was going to happen and it was all planed out. But I don’t think it was meant to punish Icarus he just happened to be involved. It was meant to punish his father for all his wrong doing and the only way to get back at him was to take away his most prized possession.
The painting “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” is a landscape that shows light and dark. There are a lot of colors being used on this oil painting, which shows life and death. This shows the different sides of the painting, perhaps moods or situations that the artist is trying to portray. The setting of the painting is at a place like an island, there are working class people, and it seems to be a common day. These people seem to depend on nature; they farm and have animals around to help them with their everyday life. The ocean takes a big part of the painting, this could mean that the artist is trying to say the ocean or water is powerful. To the left side of the painting you can see Icarus drowning, but no one seems to pay attention to this. Its almost like he doesn’t matter, or they don’t want to realize he is drowning. This side of the painting is also very dark, perhaps the darkest side of the painting. I believe this is another way of the artist portraying death. It also seems like the people in the painting don’t want to look or realize death. They seem to be trying to not realize it by looking away, or walking away. Like the lady in the red walking a horse, she makes the viewers eyes look at her because of the color of her shirt. Maybe the author is trying to tell us she’s important but yet we have to figure out why. Although she seems to be common just like everyone else in the painting, the color or her shirt brings attention to her. She seems to be looking down while walking away from where the action is occurring. She is walking away from where Icarus is drowning, which can mean she is trying to ignore it. Maybe she has to walk away from it for a reason, since she doesn’t look too happy. It’s almost impossible to look at her facial expression. This can mean that the artist wants us to figure out her mood. From my point of view she is not happy, or proud since she keeps on looking down. This woman also seems to be heading to a dark spot of the painting, just like the side where Icarus is drowning. She’s heading to a place near trees almost away from where everyone else is. There is also a man just underneath this woman, he also seems to depend on nature. He is surrounded by a sheep, looking up the sky. There is a relationship in the animals in this painting, which is they are all useful to humans. The horse could help humans carry heavy things around, as well as transportation for people before cars were invented. I think this goes back to how humans think they don’t depend on nature as much anymore. Perhaps the artist is trying to show us how much nature means, and has helped us and we don’t appreciate it anymore. The sheep in the painting also represent how these animals can be easily lead or, manipulated by people. I think it goes back to the poem and it represent betrayal. The people from this painting seem to be trying to ignore what’s going on around them. The man with the sheep is looking up the sky, as if he is waiting for a miracle. He seems to be looking up the sky because it’s bright. Perhaps he is looking for knowledge or, someone to save him. He could also be asking for forgiveness. The only ironic thing is that the sun is setting which can mean his time is over? He seems like he is scared and is waiting for better things to occur. Once again the artist makes us realize that humans need each other, and nature. Maybe this painting is trying to portray that w cant be stubborn, and think we can do anything without any help. This can also go back to humans mistreating nature. Thinking that with technology anything is possible, not realizing that nature is very important for our everyday life. Another scene in the painting that is very important is the Ocean. It takes up a nig part of the painting, and it has its light and dark sides. The space that the ocean takes in this art work represents the importance of it. I believe that the artist tried to show once again how much nature means since without water humans wouldn’t be able to survive. The are also different shades between lights and darks of the ocean, which lets the viewer see where death is occurring. Like the side where Icarus is drowning, and no one seems to pay attention. Even though it’s all the way to the right side of the painting the artist tries to illustrate that is a very important part of the painting. Very dark tones and shades are being used to portray death. I think is very weird that the artist chose to paint the legs of Icarus on the surface of the water. I think he was trying to get viewers to see that he could have been saved. Maybe that his death was a mistake, and it could have been prevented, but no one did anything. The sun setting on the opposite side of where Icarus was drawn shows that time is running out. If anything was to be done it had to be quick, but no one attempted to do anything. Everyone kept on doing the usual, almost like they were scared of even trying. Perhaps this is the reason why you cant see the face of the woman walking away the opposite way with the horse. Also this could be why the man with the sheep is trying to look up. Maybe praying for forgiveness, or waiting for something unusual to happen. There is also someone who looks to be a fisherman, he is very close to Icarus but seems to act like he has no idea what is going on. Even though he is so close to Icarus he fails to help him.
The painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus made by Pieter Bruegel depicts a scene in the myth Daedalus and Icarus but it would seem as if the scene in the painting is more interested towards the ordinary everyday workers. Even in the title of the painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus says something, like if the painter, Pieter Bruegel, just meant to paint a landscape but put with the fall of icarus for a add-on in his painting. The lighting of the painting what I know for a fact that everyone is going to be drawn to first because, I did and asked other people as well just to be sure and they said the same exact thing. The lighting in the background and the foreground are the ones that most stand out, the sun in the background, because there’s a huge portion in the background that stands out because of the light illuminating from the sun. The shepherd and the ploughman in the foreground because Bruegel meant to put the attention towards them more than Icarus itself, because if Icarus’ death was the prime motive of painting this then Bruegel wouldn’t have made his death seem so silent in the corner with no lighting on it. causing people to miss him and its entirety. The first I saw the painting I was drawn to the sun but I kept wondering if it is called Landscape with the Fall of Icarus how come I couldn’t see Icarus anywhere in the painting and I thought to my self maybe there’s a mistake with the title but to my surprise I saw something that looked like a hand in the waters of the sea, Icarus’ is drowning and non one seems to be helping him, all the workers are ignoring him in his time of need because you could not miss someone who is drowning and splashing. Icarus is right in front of the fisherman and I highly doubt that the fisherman is blind or deaf and the shepherd seems to be looking the other way ignoring him, given the drowning boy the cold shoulder and the ploughman… it looks like he’s on a hill plowing and when your on a hill you are able to see more land but everyone seems to go with there lives like as if there is nothing wrong, but in the myth of Icarus, the ploughman, the shepherd, and the fisherman are all astonished with what they see flying in the sky, Gods. In my opinion, maybe this is a side that was never meant to be told because this painting is the complete opposite with what the myth has told us, the workers are not paying attention to the flying Gods, Daedalus is nowhere to be found, the sun is within the vast heavens but rather drowning with the boy for it was the sun who the culprit for his death, and in the painting Icarus is splashing and trying to stay alive hanging by a thread trying to stay alive but in the myth his death was as quick as his flight to the skies. Everywhere in the painting where there is water is illuminated except where Icarus is being “hushed” by the sea, why is that? Is it because he’s father defied the laws of nature so by taking his sons life and by killing him silently in the darkness no one would notice. Well that’s true within this painting because I didn’t even notice his drowning when I first glanced at this painting. The small castle like building is probably the labyrinth where Daedalus and Icarus where being held because it looks like a prison surrounded by water nowhere to go, because if it was within the city like place in the back where Daedalus and Icarus where being held they could of ran off to the mountains or even fly over the mountains rather than to go over seas where anything could of happened. The painter Pieter Bruegel, was more interested with the landscape than the actual fall of Icarus because the landscape is more defined with detail rather than Icarus and his small arm and his half head popping through the water, maybe Bruegel had something against it or Bruegel like the land of Crete. The sea can be beautiful and calm but if you go against nature itself then the sea can be a frightful and violent place. There are ships everywhere in the painting, near or far, all these ships must be the fleet of the sea that King Minos has and Daedalus had mentioned. The shepherd looks toward the vast heavens, maybe he also wants to leave this land of his and fly to some far off place where things are different, or maybe his thinking that he also wants to have the power of flight like the gods flying over him. In the painting there are two birds flying one flying low to the sea and another flying high across the mountain but there’s is not one bird flying in the middle, both birds seem to be doing what it was told not be done yet nothing has happened. The fisherman must be heartless because if he couldn’t even throw a drowning boy his fishing rod to save a life then what has this world come to. Its probably a nice day and probably spring because it doesn’t look like winter or summer because Daedalus wouldn’t had flown during a hot summer day. This painting can be hard to decipher, you never know maybe this is a trick painting trying the viewer to be tricked thinking that this is Icarus drowning rather than it being Perdix dying because Daedalus threw off the Acropolis of Athens and landed in water, since time had past since Icarus had drowned because the sun was high now it setting because the time of Icarus’ death had long past. The workers getting on with there everyday lives not paying attention to what is happening in front of them shows us that people from the past or even today lack interest towards other peoples suffering.
The painting shows the world just how the Gods wanted it to be. The way they had created so they believe. Everybody does what they are suppose to be doing and does not break any of the laws. For example there is the sheep herder and all he does is herd the sheep, the fisher men is fishing, and the farmer plows. These three men are a key part in the painting. They are all different but most important they are living their lives the way the Gods wanted it. The Gods wanted no one to be above them. When Daedalus fools the Gods by making man fly it amazes the three hard working men. They think that Daedalus and Icarus were Gods. The painting shows three hard working men who do their jobs to survive. They are not that rich and have to work to feed there family’s. In the paintings bottom right hand corner. There is a man in the water and he is drowning. He seems to be moving a lot so that he can escape from drowning. The sea is just blowing right threw him not given him the chance to get out. The man could be Icarus as he fell from the sky. His legs are daggling in the air and his head is straight in the water. The water around him is moving very forceful. Driving into the sea trying to wash him away. The water on the other side of the painting seems to be very calm. The man at the corner is reaching for something, or trying to help Icarus out of the water. The man is wearing a white long sleeve shirt and looks like he has red hair or a red head. Whatever it is he is reaching down touching the water or reaching to the man drowning. There is also a little turtle there too the reason why the painter put there I do not know. It is kind of hard to see right off the back but look closely. The area is dark and the sun seems to miss where Icarus is drowning. Cold, in the shade and no light. The other two men in the painting do not even see him. There are minding there own business. Going back to there everyday lives and doing there work. All the people in the painting are wearing long sleeve shirts it must be chilly out or in the season of fall. The man in the middle of the painting is the one that is the biggest. This is one of the first thing you notice when first look at the painting. Why I do not know but he is wearing black shoes with brown stockings, a white or cream robe over the stockings. A white top with a red long sleeve under shirt. The man is holding a long rod while forcing his big brown cattle to pull the plow. The area they are headed for is a dark and forested set place. It looks very scary and I would not step foot in there. At the bottom left hand corner of the painting there is a knife in a case or maybe a dagger on top of the rock. The other man that is herding the sheep is wearing black shoes, dark green socks with dark green pants with a blue long sleeve top while holding his shepherd stick. The shepherd also has a backpack on and a dog right next him. The shepherd seems to be look up in the sky. As if something amazing has caught his attention. There seems to be only two black sheep for some odd reason and the rest of the sheep are all white. There is a ship next to where Icarus is drowning and looking at the sails the wind is blowing them very hard. Like the Gods didn’t want the people on to see what is happening. The ship is being blown into the light the nice part of the painting where the beautiful city lies. In the middle of the painting there is a dungeon or something that looks like a dungeon. It could be a cave or home of someone or something. It can also be the place where Daedalus and Icarus were trapped. Behind the cave is the city. A big beautiful city that looks like it has been made out of gold. The ships in the painting seem to be heading in the direction of the city. Heading straight to the gulf of the city. This utopia so to speak. Behind the city is a mass mountain no that’s not a mountain it’s a volcano. It is about to erupt over the city and the people don’t even know or noticed it. To the far right of the painting are ice burgs or a valley of Ice Mountains it looks kind of beautiful the way the painter painted it. When looking at the paint from left to right or right to left you will notice that it starts with a dark tone and then gets light then goes back to a dark tone again. The lighter part being the middle of the painting is very bright and that’s where the sun seems to be. The sun is setting or rising but is still pretty bright. To left of the sun is a mountain in the shape of an isosceles triangle. It is perfect. In other ways it could also be stairs or a stairway to heaven. The place where the gods live and watch over the world. The sea has a very calm tone to until reach the bottom of the painting that’s when the waves are there thrashing into Icarus who is drowning in the water. To the left of the painting there are a whole bunch of clouds coming as if a storm is about to take place. It’s moving slowly while the lightness is slowly fading away. The painter is trying to change our moods as we look at the painting to have mixed emotions on what we think about the painting.
The landscape with the fall of Icarus by Bruegel, Pieter is about the story we read in class Deadulis and Icarus how Dradulius cause the downfall of his son Icarus. The first thing I notice when I look at the landscape is the sunlight which represent when Deadulis and his son Icarus was flying successfully and everyone was looking at them thinking they were God. The next thing I look at is the bottom that is dark which represent the downfall of Icarus .The guy that was wearing red and walking away from Icarus because he think that it is impossible to mess with the God and if anyone try to help him the water God would kill him too. The shepherd was till looking at the sky because he thinks that Icarus was God disciple like in the bible God disciple goes before god so he thinks that after Icarus show himself God will come next that was the reason he was still looking at the sky if God was coming. The other thing I notice is the fisherman who was still fishing after Icarus fall in the water because the story we read said that the water hilled him that means that nobody knew what happened because it was so fast that nobody notices that it happened. The other thing that I look at was the legs that were on top of the water next to the fisherman and the legs belong to Icarus. It look like every thing in the water was sinking because that shows that the water God is very mad at Deadulic and Icarus for going against its will. The trees next to the water are falling apart that shows how powerful the water god is. In the landscape is like the sun is coming out of the water is means that the gods is happy with is decision. The ship next to Icarus is sinking so he wouldn’t use it to survive. The ships are trying to escape because they know what is going so they want to run away from it. The ground next to the guy that is wearing red is breaking apart. The land that has no water is where Icarus and his escape from when they were lock up from going again the god’s way of nature. The middle of the water the sun is shining that means that Icarus doesn’t fall in that part of the water. The ships’ moving together is going to the light. This explains what was going on when Icarus and his father tries to go against the water god view of how nature should be.
In the myth Landscape with the Fall of Icarus many different things happen and many morals were giving. Bruegel, Pieter was a created guy he painted an amazing picture reflection in a great myth. It very detail and very interesting to look at it. If you read the poem you will see how things are mention exactly as the picture.
In the middle of the lake he shows were Icarus and Daedalus were kept in prison and what was surrounding the island. He mentions the workers some fisherman, some ploughman. The shepherd was looking up the sky looking like he pointing at something trying to show something in the picture. On the bottom of the picture right next to the fisherman you will notice Icarus dieing. it looks like he trying to call for help and no one is really trying anything. They probably know this is the work of the gods and they can really do anything about it so if they do try to help it would be bad for them. Many people probably think that your death was just faith and that no one can really help you when you are dieing. Bruegel, Pieter made really light so it shows that everything was happen during the day when the sun was set. It looks like a very calm village and it seems like nature is the main thing there because everything is surrounded by trees and plants and animals. In Icarus foot when we see him drowning we can see that no where in the picture Daedalus is located to help his son. It looks like half of the lake is lighter then the other side. So to me that means that the other side is a better side to live. And were Icarus is its dark so it means there is evil on his side. In the lower left of the picture the ploughman is wearing a red shirt and a gray greenish dress with some ugly socks and some black shoes his is long and dark brown. He is pushing a carriage that looks like it’s cutting the grass and that is connecting to the horse. It looks like he is making lines while moving forward as if it was cutting pieces of the grass. It looks like on his left hand he is holding a piece of string that is used to hit horses. In the ocean it looks like people are going to battle because there are about four ships leaving the island facing the direction of the sun near the other islands. Some of the ships are farther then the other and I don’t understand it because they should be together as one. The biggest ship is brownish and has white flags doesn’t look like there is no one inside of the ship and it is facing the direction of the other boats. Maybe that ship is going after the other ones because maybe the other ships tried to do something with the island. Then in the middle there is a man that looks like he is in control of the sheep’s for them not to go into the water but then it looks like a sheep fell. In the lower right of the painting it seems that the fisherman doesn’t seem to notice that Icarus is drowning in the water and everyone else on the island. The fisherman is wearing a white piece of clothes and to me that symbolizes innocence because Icarus looks like he was doing something he shouldn’t so it caused him to fall into the water. It looks like it in the spring season because all of the trees are getting bigger and greener and healthier. But, then in the lighter part of the picture it seems that it’s in the winter season because there are mountains that look like there is snow on them. Where the ships are facing to it looks like it’s a city and it doesn’t look peaceful because it was man made and on the side where there is the fisherman, shepherd looks as it was made from the gods. On the upper left of the picture there is some birds that is flying away from the island circle around the prison where Icarus and his father were. On the bottom right of the picture it looks like in the bottom of the tree you can see a turtle it probably symbolizes long living and that did happen to Icarus. The sun is going down it sunset that mean the workers should go home. They are surrounded by islands and there are the only peace and green place, full of trees and animals. Beside the shepherd there a dog that is helping him the do is brown and white with huge black eyes he has a string around his neck that is holding him next to shepherd. On the island that they are going in the corner of the ocean there is huge church that it looks yellow made out of brinks, there are some big apartments and some nice houses. On the middle of the ocean there is an abandon island with some grass and sand and I don’t see anybody around. Back there if you really look u would see a flag it looks like there is a person leaving there. All the workers are wearing a helmet for some reason maybe to protect there self from something that is following. The painter made really nice details about the different color he use in the ocean, that is light blue, dark blue, and a black blue. Making a yellow and white type in the middle. These are some of things that I saw while looking at the painting, it shows how people worked in Greece and how everything reflects to the poem. Bruegel, Pieter put a lot of ways to describe what he meant in the poem and how he detailed everything so specific to explain what he was thinking and how there was darkness on Icarus drowning to show evil and pain.
The first thing that comes to my mind when I see the painting of Pieter Brughel, “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”, is the ploughman with its bright red shirt, to be exact, mostly the whole painting is bright, because the painter was pretty precise painting the sun’s light. So, there is the ploughman, with a red shirt that has baggy sleeves and he is wearing some sort of grey vest over it, I’m almost sure that I see a white apron over his brown pants. He also has a black pair of shoes. He’s ploughing with and old fashioned plough pulled by a horse, he is half way done with his ploughing. The ploughman is up in a hill really close to the viewer, on his left there are some trees, going a little bit more inside the picture, there is a Sheppard, he is a little bit down on the hill, he is taking care of 19 sheep’s, and 3 of them are black. He is looking to the sky, probably at Deadalus; he wears a blue shirt, brown pants, and black shoes, he hold a cane and has a backpack on his back. Little bit to the Sheppard’s right there is a fisherman, he is also close to the viewer, but because he is on the bottom of the hill, he was painted smaller than the Sheppard and the ploughman. The fisherman is on the sea’s edge, he wears a white shirt and a hat, he is reaching for something on the water, on his left, there is a turtle swimming to what looks like to be a random direction. On the turtles right there is a pair of legs out of the water, they belong to Icarus, whose drawing.
Neither fisherman, ploughman nor Sheppard seemed to notice Icarus drawing. As you go up and left from Icarus on the picture, there is a Ship, this ship appears to be going away from the shore, also, it looks like it’s hiding Icarus from the sun, because the piece of sea where Icarus, the turtle and the place where the fisherman is, are all covered by darkness, while the rest of the picture rests under the sun’s light. It is sunset; the sea is so peaceful, with a deep and calm blue mixed with sun on the horizon with its bright yellow, make the sea a gentle green that relaxes the viewer. There are a couple of islands, and a few boats on the water. The left island is a gigantic rock; it has the shape of a castle, or a fortress, and has a small cave entrance at the bottom, near the water, and on its back there is a little piece of land with some trees on it. The other island, on the top right of the picture, just look like a small desert island, has a lot of green on it, what looks like trees and grass, but looking closer you can also see the shapes of houses. On this right island right’s, there is a piece of land, it starts near Icarus drawing and it goes until the horizon, so I guess that might be a part of firm land other than a bigger island. It doesn’t seem to be any houses because all I can see on its shore is mountains. All the way to the other side of the picture, there is another piece of firm land, and it has a lot of mountains on it, like the other side, but also has a town near the horizon. Giving it a closer look to the town, you can see that it really looks like those old Greece stile of houses, and by that I mean those houses that look like are made from one, and only one, entire piece of marble, there are some white houses, and some light-brown houses, the town is half-moon shaped turned to the water.
I don’t understand why, but the sky is clearly divided in three; on the sun’s right, on the sun’s left and above the sun. Above the sun is pretty clear and has some bright colors on it, but on the sun’s right and left is clouded, and very clouded, grey clouds as if they were predicting a storm.
Looking at the painting details, you can clearly see that it is spring, not only because all the trees have pretty green leafs, but also because there is a guy farming, obviously. I’ve also noticed that the only part of the sea with waves is where Icarus is drawing, maybe because of the big ship moving nearby, maybe is because Icarus fell and moved the water, I don’t know the reason, but it is what it is. I can see a couple of birds that I haven’t noticed before, one is flying near the “fortress looking” island, and the other one near the town on the right. Another interesting thing I’ve just realized about the Bruegel’s art is that besides Icarus whose drawing, the only people that appear in the image are workers, and they all are working with nature. They aren’t building something, neither cutting trees, but they are working with animals, all three of them. Thinking it over, there is some variety in animals in this picture. Sheep, horse, bird, turtle, maybe the painter had a purpose for all of them.
Doing some research I found out what is probably what the ploughman is farming. And that would be olives or grapes, the two most common things that people used to plant in old Greece.
Pieter Brueghel’s painting “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” describes the moment when Icarus is drowning in the sea. Each person in the painting concerns on their own work and Icarus seemed to be ignored. The picture is colorful with the sun as center of the picture which makes the center part brighter and the two sides are darker, and it is mainly form of the color brown, dark green, blue, yellow and orange. When I first look at the picture I see the farmer with a horse in the middle because he is wearing a red shirt inside his jacket which is the brightest color in the picture and it catches my eyes, he is working up on the hill with stair-case-liked field. There are some trees at his left. Then I see a shepherd and some sheep at the right of the farmer, the shepherd is looking up the sky. He is wearing a blue shirt and a dog sites beside him. He is surrounded by his sheep, located at the lower altitude than the farmer. These two people are the ones with brightest color because the sun shines on where they stand. At the right bottom of the shepherd a man with a black top hat and white shirt sits by the seashore that seems to be fishing. A turtle is swimming by the seashore not far away from the man, the turtle’s color is similar with the color of the sea. A fish boat locates at the right center part of the picture. Between the fish boat and the turtle there is the drowning Icarus with only legs on the surface of the sea, unnoticed by the turtle and fisherman. A few feathers left in the air falling down. The next thing that I see is the mountains at the top right part of the picture, at their left side there is a small island. Then the sun is right at the left of the island. Areas around the sun are obviously brighter. A few sea boats are sailing on the sea under the sun. The most left part of the picture is Crete’s land, buildings squeeze together at the top left part. Two birds, hardly can be seen, flying by the shore of Crete. A cave is near Crete and is surrounded by it. 60% of the picture is the sea and 40% is Crete and people going on daily activities. The picture is related to a ancient Greek myth “Daedalus and Icarus”, which is about the father violated the law of nature and made out two pairs of wings in order to escape from Crete, the father warned Icarus to follow him, not to fly too high or too low. Icarus is attracted by the excitement brought by flying and the beautiful view from sky, he flys higher and higher, at last the sun melts his wings made of wax and he falls into the sea and died. In the picture I cannot find Daedalus anywhere, probably because the main character is the fallen Icarus so Brughel doesn’t include him into the painting. The topic of the picture is Icarus but he is drawn at the right bottom corner in the picture which you cannot notice him without scanning through the picture. Brughel intended to show that Icarus is unnoticed by putting the farmer and shepherd at the center which is the brightest place. As a result when people look at this picture they can hardly notice Icarus. I tried to find where Icarus is as I first look at the picture but I only see the farmer first, and I cannot even be sure if those legs are Icarus or not. Brughel successfully let the center part catches people’s attention by using the contrast of colors. Looking at what everyone doing in the picture, the fisherman, who is nearest to Icarus, reaching his hand out at the sea with his head down, I don’t know if he is trying to save Icarus or he just want to say goodbye to the turtle. With that distance I am sure that he can’t save Icarus by just reaching out his hand. The shepherd and the farmer are not evening looking at Icarus’ side. Normally when a person falls into the sea there would be at least the sound of splashing water, and Icarus is evening yelling out to his father while falling and doing his Icarian dance. But neither of them seems to have heard them. Perhaps they are just too busy to concern with their own business and good at pretending to be deaf. The fisherman is still looking up to the sky, I guess he hasn’t recovered from the astonishments brought by seeing Gods flying in the air. Perhaps what Brughel is trying to show in the painting is that Icarus could be saved, but since they choose to stand against nature, people who relate or even depend to nature don’t want to save him, or they think that if Icarus is a God he can surely save himself. The sun only shows half of itself on the surface of the sea, I’m not sure if the time is dawn or dusk, that people may be tired working after working for whole day or still trying to refresh their minds early in the morning. But I think that it is a sunset because the two sides of the picture are dark as night time. The picture also tells how important nature is to people living at that time, I can see that everyone’s work relats to nature a lot. In conclusion I think what Brughel try to tell in this picture is not to go against nature because they take revenges. Brughel intentionally makes everybody in the picture busy with their own business: farming, herding, fishing, and drowning. And he put Icarus at the corner in purpose so that people who are looking at the painting can soon realize that he is made to be unnoticed. Icarus can be saved because there is a fisherman, a fish boat and a turtle nearby, anyone of them can save them if they want to. This picture shows the theme of the myth that we should not challenge the power of nature.
Susan Menjivar
Period 7
The painting "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" by Pieter Burgle is a beautiful oil painting with so much going on. This painting shows a lesson and the consequence of what happens when one does not follow the rules. When I looked at it I noticed the landscape and then the fall of Icarus. It shows the beauty of nature and what happens when man goes against it. Looking at the painting I would not have even thought it was based on a myth. The painter uses very few bright colors so what is bright is very noticeable which hides some small important facts in the painting. The viewer has to really pay attention to the small details to get the most out of it from the myth. The
In the oil painting I see a beautiful landscape which does not seem out of this world. While reading the myth I thought it was going to look like a scene in the movie "Hercules". My eyes go right to the sky because its a light golden yellow. It makes me think of Zeus too because Zeus is always showed as a large golden colored man. It also makes me think of life and freedom. The whole reason why the father and son were flying there was to have a free life. The sun looks like it is setting which made me confused. In the myth it says that Icarus was flying much higher than he should have so the sun melted his wings. Icarus is right in the corner and looks as if he had just fallen in but the sun is setting so if he did fly higher the heat could not have melted the wax because it is too far. The next color that caught my eye was the red on a mans shirt. This was the next brightest color. I believe the painter wanted it to be that color so he can make sure we all see it. That man is going out to tell a story and teach many about the lesson. He is an important character. The painter did not try to add much detail to his face but more in his clothing. His clothing tells me he is a middle class man and works hard. The other 2 workers are all hard working men too and all 3 have related jobs. All of them count on nature to survive. I then noticed the water and the big difference in colors there are. On one side it almost looks black and on another its very light and looks so clean and clear. Where the water is black I think it represents death is you disobey the gods. In the light part I think it represents life and freedom if you obey the rules of the gods. There is no actual cause of the dark water because there is nothing big enough around it to make the shadow. I then noticed a small island with a hut made from rock on it. I believe this was the location the father and son were sent to. I would have never thought it was so close to shore. It does not even look like a such a bad place to be. It looks like a decent home. I then looked at some mountain like hills in the back. They are white so you notice this one tiny black dot. If a person looks at it closely it is actually a small black bird which I think is a partridge bird. That is a very large symbol in the myth. I like how the painter engraves it there even though it is so insignificant it says so much. The trees that were painted on the far left are there to show how beautiful and now scary nature can look. I think the painter putting the landscape and the people show the lesson of Man Vs Nature.
The name of the painting is simple and right to the point. The painter Pieter Burgle named his painting "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" . I think he put it in the order for a reason too. This painting is basically a landscape. Therefore he put landscape first in the title. Then he added the fall of Icarus as second because when you look at the picture you see the landscape and then you notice the myth painted into the painting.
When I first looked at this picture I did not see any story or myth. I think the viewer really has to search through the painting to know the myth. This painting also does not tell the story. You can only understand it if you have read the myth. I am guessing that the painter wants people to read the poem before looking at his painting. If the viewer looks at it without reading it they will not understand it and will have to read it. This may be a way to get more people to actually read the myth and by doing so this will teach people the lessons. This painting can be as simple as just walking by it and having no idea. It also can be such a beautiful detailed piece of art work if the viewer really has read the myth. I believe the painter did not want to paint in the father of Icarus because of two reasons. First of all the lesson is mostly based on Icarus. I think he really wants to spread the word that we should not just deal with nature because there will be consequences. Also, that if a person flies too high, which is why he is not in the picture, he turns full of himself. That ended up basically with the downfall of Icarus's father. I really do believe that this painting was meant for people who actually read the myth and understood it. I also believe that the painter thinks that nature is a really important factor in life and that man should not go against it. Thats why in his painting he makes sure we all see the beauty of nature.
The picture explains the climax of the poem. It shows the fisherman, the shepherd and the ploughman that appears in the poem when Daedalus and Icarus are flying. The picture actually is the written poem in a painting. There is the island on the middle of the ocean, which seems it is the prison mentioned in the fist lines of the poem. The prison in the middle of the ocean was the first thing I saw when I looked at the picture, I did not realize it was the prison, but after analyzing the picture, I concluded that the island and the rock building was the prison. The prison must be that island, because the speaker in the poem said that “the sea held him”.After I comprehended the prison, my eyes went directly to the sky, searching Icarus and Deadulus flying, and then I realized they were not flying anymore, therefore I looked in the ocean and found a guy drowning, whom is Icarus already dying and being “hushed” by the water. In the place where Icarus is drowning, underneath him, in the water, there seems to be a monster, or an angel of death going after him to take his life away; but looking again it seems like an inoffensive turtle. In the shore of the ocean, there is a guy, who might be the fisherman, but also could be Daedalus trying to save Icarus from the deadly ocean, because the guy seems to be trying to help, or reaching in the ocean to help him. Icarus is drowning and nobody seems to care, looking exactly at the fisherman’s motion and attempt to reach the water, he is not really reaching for Icarus, he is reaching in a different direction and doesn’t even turn his head to see Icarus dying. Looking back in the sky, the sun and the color of the sky are very bright, showing how hot the sun is the sun, the sun that made Icarus fall from the sky. Looking at the horizon, there seems to be mountains or places beyond our sight of view, I could kind of see shapes of mountains and probably other cities. It is interesting the place where Icarus fell in the water; he fell somehow near the shore, which is a very unfortunate luck, because maybe if he had fallen on land or closer to the shore, he had probably survived.The boats and ships in the ocean are kind of random, because it is not mentioned in the poem. Nobody from the boat looks at Icarus or tries to help him, or maybe whoever was on board didn’t see the accident, therefore they don’t seem important to the poem neither the picture.There is a bird on the far left of the picture, close to white mountain, and that is the bird, a partridge that appears in the burial of Icarus and makes noise.The painting has a lot of dark, bright and light colors, which represents life and death, since the poem illustrates death also life. It is weird how in the left and right bottoms of the picture, is very dark and colorless, and the top of the painting everything is so bright and colorful. The area of the oean where Icarus is dying, is very dark, and that is the only part of the ocean which is not blue; it feels that the water is dirty and intoxicated by his presence and blood. The leafs of the trees are dark instead of bright green, since the time of the poem and the painting seems like spring, because of the ploughman working on his farm, the shepherd taking care of the lambs, and the fisherman fishing, again representing death and loneliness. The bright red color of the ploughman’s shirt gives a feeling of blood and crime, also the icy mountains on the far right side of the picture, makes me think about Daedalus assassinating his nephew. The colors of the lambs are very random, some are white, and a couple of them are black, which is very weird. The painter probably wanted to use the lambs and represent them as Icarus and Deadalus’ nephew, the two persons that were killed in the poem. Also the shepherd is looking to the sky, but he’s not actually looking at something, which I also found weird, because he’s just standing there leaning upon his crook, with his legs crossed, and a dog sitting beside him, I suppose the dog is protecting him and the lambs. Observing the ploughman’s work, is weird how he ploughs in a half circle instead of strait, and he goes down the hill instead of horizontally across the hill; I don’t know much about plough, but I think it is supposed to be strait and vertically, because otherwise, when I rain, wherever is planted on the ground would be washes and melted away. On the cost, on the far left side of the painting, there’s a yellowish building that seems like the ‘temple of Minerva’, the place where Deadalus pushed his nephew. Looking down on the coast, toward the prison, is a bird that might be the ‘Perdix’, flying low afraid of ‘all high places’. The city on the very far end of the left side of the painting must be the land of Etna.There are images on the painting that are very well painted, but there are a few images which are not so well drawn, for example the ploughman body seems uneven with his legs, shoulders and head; his legs looks a little crooked and long in comparison to the rest of his body; the same thing is with the shepherd, he looks so retarded, his face has an inexplicable emotion, and for any reason he has his legs crossed while standing, holding on to his stick. The dimensions of the picture does not seem very real also, there are images too close to each other with enormous differences in sizes. In the picture there are images of events that occur in the poem, but there is also a few additional images, places and things that were not mentioned in the written poem. For example the ships and boats on the water, a couple other islands, besides the prison, in the ocean, a few cities, and in one of the islands it seems that another city is being raised. These additional images are probably added to make the image complete, however, there could be a hypothesis that it represents the continuation of the poem; the poem does not finish in the words, it keeps going on, moving towards another direction through the drawings and paintings.
In the picture the season should be spring because the trees a blooming and the land are green but also dry in other areas. There is man at the top with black hair, who is wearing grey cloths with a red shirt inside, with brown pants and brown blackish shoes, while holding a stick in his hand to beat the brown horse so that it moves to pull the plow down the field. That man is the plow man, but the area where he is plowing looks like stairs going down, but actually it’s a field. The rows that look like stairs are just the rows of soil created after the process of plowing. The plow is rolling on one wheel and it’s wooden. The plow man seems to be almost done with his work; there is only a small potion of land left to plow. Then below the plow man there is a shepherd with his sheep and he is looking to the sky maybe at the father of Icarus, because that is what the myth says, but anyway the shepherd has a lot of sheep, most of them are white and three are brown but one the sheep that is brown, that is behind the shepherd does not look like a sheep, it looks like a dog some domestic animal with teeth. The shepherd has black hair, he is wearing a blue shirt and black pants with black shoes, holding a stick and carrying a basket on his back, but it looks like the land where the shepherd is standing and where the sheep are feeding is dry, but there are green plants on the side where the land meets the sea, so the sheep can eat those plants. Next at the bottom right of the plow man and the shepherd, there is a fisher man reaching out the sea. He is in a white outfit with a black belt, and he has red hair with a black hat on his head; it looks like he is catching a fish with his hands or trying to reach for Icarus to pull him out of the sea. But right in front of him there is a figure where legs are sticking out of the water and maybe that is Icarus drowning and that is where he fell from the sky but I don’t see the wings with him. Yet the sea is so busy and populated with ships and merchants, why doesn’t any one notice him drowning? There is an island at the sea to the sea and it looks like a cave maybe a tomb. The picture is very bright but it’s kind of ironic because Icarus is dying, it’s supposed to be dark. But the sea seems to be dark where Icarus falls. And the other areas are light. There are about eight boats on the sea. Two boats are moving to the middle where there is a lot of light, so you could say they are moving into the light. At the left there is land with huge rocks and looks like mountains and in front of the mountains there is a city and it has buildings that a red, others are white and blue, while some of the buildings are sky scrapers, because they are almost tall enough to reach the high areas of the mountains. Behind the city there are mountains. The city has ports because there are ships in its harbor. Then at sea to the right there is an island with houses on it and the sun is either rising or setting behind. And on the right of the island there are mountains that are white on the bottom and blue at the top. The clouds over the lands of the east and the west are dark, while the clouds over the sea are not even there; the sky is clear with just sunlight. For some reason the top of the mountains look like the skies accept just different tones and contrasts of the color blue mixed with some yellow and green, they are dark and light. There are two birds in the picture both on the left one on top and the other at bottom next to the green plants and trees at the left. The sky where the sun is shining seems like its burning like an inferno. At the left of the sun in the back there are extra mountains and they are blue and white, so the area is very mountainous as seen in the picture. In the picture it seems that the dark clouds are coming in to cover up the sun light.
When I first looked at Pieter Brueghel’s painting “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” my eyes immediately went to Pieter Bruegehel used the color red only for one person. The farmer’s shirt. Red shows passion is he possibly in love? Is he supposed to be the main character in this painting? Secondly why is the Sheppard having his back tord the sun and this beautiful water scene? Has he given up on life and his career? His head is tilted as if he’s pondering threw his life, his dog stops with him, which makes me think that they only thing he trusts or that is left in this world if his dog. The sheppard trusts his dog to watch of the flock so much that he can daze of and daydream without worrying something will go wrong. There’s a gentleman leaning over near what I think could be Icarus drowning. Did he try to save Icarus? Or is he not paying any attention to Icarus drowning and he is just an older man trying to go about his day by fishing. The world looks very calm while Icarus is drowning near by. The ships are sorter sitting there quietly. The further away the picture goes the water seems cold. Then my eye gazed to the herd of sheep by the water. Where are they being herded to somewhere warmer or safer? If you look down to a lower level maybe they’re going to a larger area where they can graze. The sun in this portrait is very abstract and is shining over a lot of the sky and is also reflecting off the open sea. My thoughts are that the sun plays a major part in this town’s day. And is very important to this story that the picture tells. Also in “The Story of Deadalus and Iracus” the sun is very big and hot that’s the reason the Icarus wax on his wings melted. Poor Icarus couldn’t control himself he had to go soaring into the open beautiful sky. Which brings me to The “Story of Deadalus and Icarus” Deadalus says to his son “I warn you Icarus, fly a middle course don’t go too low, or the water will weigh the wings down; Don’t go too high the sun’s fire will burn them. Keep middle way.” But Icarus did not listen to his father he soared higher and higher until the burning hot sun melted his wings and Icarus went flying down from the sky until the big blue sea hushed him. If Icaurs listened to his father he would have been alive to tell everybody about how he soared with the bird and the clouds. Instead he was never seen again. Most of Pieter Bruegal’s paintings have people in them and or have a deeper meaning. Like his portrait “Elder People” in this painting men and women seem to be working frantically like they have a dead line or something. Another one of Mr. Bruegal’s work “Children’s Games” this painting is cluttered with people and small tents etc. a lot of things is going on in this. He empathesis the sky by using deeper colors such as reds and oranges. The color can really change the mood of a painting, or gives it an edgy finish. In the “Landscape with the fall of Icarus” The sun takes up almost a 4th of the canvas. Does the mean a start of a new day or a new season? After analyzing this canvas if you look very closely it could be Fall the tree looks thin and is missing leaves. Also the shrubs have branches hanging off and out of them. Were the farmer is walking with his horse. Another thing that caught my eye in this portrait is the big ship that’s in the harbor. Is someone important coming out of the big ship is that Deadalus was in such a rush to try out these wings? The ship is sand barring right where Icarus is drowning. Wasn’t anyone on that ship that seen him crying out for his life. Then you look only where Iarus’ deadly body is the water is dark and gloomy. Is that because Iraus’s body is being torn between the seas? And if you look further out the sea is like a bright blue crystal. Also tords the left of the water it looks like a fort of some sort. The town’s people might have used that as a prison. Or maybe that was some mans house that really liked to be left alone. In conclusion “the Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” by: Pieter Bruegal can be broken down into hundreds of words. You can just tell by look at this piece of art then he puts a deeper meaning into his work.
Kristy Motherway pd. 7
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus The title seems interesting because it�s very plain. In my opinion, Bruegel wanted to keep the title plain and simple to keep us wondering about what is exactly happening, because it is not clear. In the picture the first thing I see is there is this guy wearing blue with animals staring into the sky. Then, you can see Icarus drowning in the water but nobody in the picture is paying attention to that. The man with the horse is not even paying attention to anything; he is in his own little world. He is wearing red that is eye capturing at first glance. Dedalus is not even in the picture maybe he is still in the sky but I don�t see anything that could look like that. To me there are so many different colors in the picture that you see, it blends in. Also, there are so many things that nobody is even paying attention to. For example, there are so many ships and nobody seems to care, maybe its normal for them. I think I see the gods in the picture, in the sky. The sky is like a vanilla color and blue and gray. The man closest to the water wearing white near Icarus looks like he wants to help him but, then he is just doing his own thing I am not sure what he is trying to do. Half of the picture is all nature. For example, like water, trees, sky, mountains, and rocks. Then I notice the horse just there. And then it looks like there is a village across from where the man in red is to the left of the water. The sheep are going everywhere and the man with them is not paying attention to them. There are many rocks that are big enough to stand on like the one that is to the left. There are trees like it�s a forest and they lack many leaves, it makes me think about bad weather. I notice a dog right next to the man in blue just looking in the sky also. They are probably looking at Dedalus but you can not see him. The sky is kind of cloudy and you can see the sun setting. You can see little birds close to the trees just flying around, they are black, and there are two that I can see. I am still wondering what the man in red is doing, he is holding something that is connected to the horse. I think he is going to go into the forest because it looks like there is a pathway in front of the horse. On the ground you see lines that are closer to the horse; I am not sure what that is. And now when I look more closely the rock that is close to the trees seems like a little island there, or cave cause you can see like an entrance of some sort, maybe where Dedalus and Icarus were kept. Also behind the trees is like a white rock or a white mountain and I see a little black or gray maybe that could people or just some grass or animals from far away. Also connected to that is this other white mountain and there is black but I am sure that is not the water. And that connects to the village or island. You can see a ship coming away from there. And then close to the house that is on the border you see something white in the water that looks either like a wing or a boat. Then looking more away to the left of the sun you see another white mountain. I think that is where the gods are and they are just watching at the scene and observing. Also, right across from the sun you see something that is kind of transparent but it looks like another boat. To the right of the sun there is something else that is white; it could be a wave or just another island. But on the sides you see gray like its crumbling or being taken away. Next to that in the water you see a tip like it�s a shark. Then another white mountain, I am not sure why there are so many. Then going back looking closer to the ship that is at the very front closest to shore, there is something white that is being blown away and looks like its stuck to the poles, not the sail, not sure what its called. Another thing I noticed is you can see a tree close to the water, and it looks like a sheep is stuck on the edge. Then you see a branch on the right and if you can see closely there is a turtle on it. It looks like it is about to fall off. Also, to the right next to the boat I don�t know what that is, it looks like a part of an island cut off but then again is could be part of the ocean it is cream-orange and gray-black color, and the tip looks like an animals head. My guess is a dog or something close to that. It is very weird. The color water changes when it gets to the right. All throughout the picture it looks like some shade of blue then to the right its green/black. I keep looking at the man in blue and wonder what he is holding. He has a stick for the sheep I am guessing. But on his back it looks like a backpack but more like an instrument. The man in blue does not stand out as much as the man in red. His shirt blends with the ocean and same thing about the man in white near Icarus. The man that is wearing red stands out more because there is nothing red in the picture, but maybe Bruegel did that on purpose because the man seems the most careless about what is happening and wants us to focus on him. This whole painting has so much detail but nobody really knows exactly what is going on. Just like me, I am still not sure. The painting is based on the opinion of Bruegel; it may not be the same as everyone else who sees it. This painting was painted based on imagination of what the scene may be like.
The painting “Landscape with the fall of Icarus”made by Pieter Bruegel, the lifelike overview, makes me realize all of the variation colors that were used. In the painting the most noticeable is the man who is plowing the farms. because the color of the man’s shirt is in natural hue of red, it really takes up the entire painting that his shirt is the brightest color in the painting. He is also in the foreground of the painting which shows there is more precision . And it’s the only one of the color in this painting. And that is one of the first thing I just noticed when I first look at the painting. And red is a significant color. It means blood, love, death and angry. But in this event, I think it means death because it might be relating to Icarus’ death. These colors also can be showing the tone of the images. The bright, yellow, dramatic sun has rays of light exaggerated along the skyline. It might be early in the morning or in the evening since the sun is not all the way up in the sky.The ploughman is wearing red suit with gray dress, block shoes with the long brown stockings and he has block hair. He is holding a stick and forcing his big brown ox to pull the plow the farm. The farm that he just plowing with a ploughshare , the ox and in the middle of him, which took just like one over three of the painting. And there are some trees with the leaves around the farm. And the man is in a higher level with the ox, it seems like the man is in higher rank person just like the god and he doesn’t show up his face. And some of the area around him seems to be plowed already, in the painting it gives an indented shade compared to the grass. And the area in front of him is a dark place but in my opinion, if he walks into that might be a forested. There is a slope but I think it’s a sidestep that leads down to the next level. There is an another man who is wearing black boots, dark green pants with a sky blue long sleeve top. I think his wearing like a hiker because he has a back pack, which it just like a traveling bag. He is standing with his legs crossed and fold one's arms and holding a shepherd stick. Also there is a dog is standing right next to him. I think it’s a kind of demi-wolf who is looking forward while the shepherd is looking up into the sky. may be there is something just caught his attention or he is looking the clouds to see the weather. They are seventy sheep in this painting, two of them are block and the rest of them are white. Down to the right corner, there is another man, who is sitting down on the rock. Form his view of his back, I think he is either fumble something or he is fishing. Because I saw he put his hand in the water seems to fumble something but when I enlarge the painting I saw a faint fishing rod. He’s wearing a black hat, a white shirt with a grey strap around his shirt and tying in the back, a light grey pants and I think his hair is red color or he’s wearing a red scarf. There is a turtle next to him. They are two legs on the side next to the turtle. I think those are people’s legs and the person is upside down in the water with his legs up in the air. I think that guy is Icarus, who dropped down form sky, I see some of the feathers in the sky, which is dropping down into water next to Icarus. the that figure shows he is drowning and that part of the water turned to be dark/black color where Icarus drowning. That shows the water is dirty and I think black means death that connect to Icarus’ death. And there is a large ship next to where Icarus is drowning and the sails are blowing by the wind. The ship is in the direction of the sun, which is to the east because the sun is rising at east. By the way they are nine ships in the painting. In the center of left corner, there is a cave that made by some rocks. The entrance of the cave is black, it looks like a dungeon, I think it’s the place that Daedalus and Icarus captured. There’s some trees in the back of the dungeon. On the top of the left corner, there is a city with white, pink, orange and bright yellow color, which shows the house of the residents in the surrounding area. Next to the city, there have some dark green trees, it also looks like a grassland. Behind the city there is a mass of ice mountain. Next to the grassland is a mass of the rock mountain and there has a bird that is flying around it. In my opinion, I think it’s Icarus’ father, Daedalus with the big wings. He is looking for his son, Icarus. In the middle of the painting, there is another civilization that kind like a small Islands and islets. It also shows some houses along the edge of the land. And on the top of the right corner, there is a huge mountain that is all white, it covers with ice. In the middle part of the painting, the sky is bright yellow color, It kinds like rosiness or it might relative to heaven which compare to the color of the water where Icarus just drowning, that is black color, which relative to as the hell. May be that why nobody is trying to save him while he’s dropping down to the water. The fish man is someone who most closely to him, but he didn’t do any response just keeping on what he’s just doing. And the turtle also kind like hide it’s face from him. And the shepherd pays no attention to him that why he’s looking up the sky. The ploughman also ignored him just keeping on the plowing. anyone of them can save him if only if they want to do.but finally they didn't, which shows they are cruel hearted..
In the painting Landscape with the fall of Icarus The painter makes the eye focus on one thing when first looking at it, a guy in the red shirt wearing some kind of dress, this man is the biggest image in the picture, the main guy is pushing a plow guided by a horse, he is turning green grass into brown soil, I believe that he’s trying to tell the viewer that he is the reason for turning all life into death, as in the myth. There are two more guys they all seem to be wearing the same dress; they have the same occupation in the picture. The second with a herd of sheep, he is holding a stick and wearing some sort of back pack. A dog is sitting next to him. The sheep are all white except for two; this might refer to the two who die in the myth. The second man is looking up into the sky as if watching something, his stance seems to be still as if he plans to watch it for awhile, the third man in the portrait is leaning towards the water, but not to save the body that is drowning; he pays no mind to that. They all seem as though they don’t know each other exists. There are many boats, as you look towards the sun setting they seem to disappear. The main boat that is shown is in the section of water where Icarus is drowning. The weather seems to be fall and windy, the boat’s sail seems to be fighting against strong winds. You would think that if there was a boat located next to the boy drowning they would try to save him. Unless its trying to tell you it tried but the weather fought against his life. There is many islands, in the left hand corner looks like there is civilization, towns or a city. Calm waters are shared by rapid waters. The guy (Icarus) drowning is in rapid waters struggling, the boat which lies in this section of this water is rocking due to waves. The calmer side near the towns is settled water. The sky is half dark and half light, the light half which the sun sets in the back of the painting; this is the side that has civilization. The painter used lighter colors to symbolizing life. The darker side is where these men are and where the bodies drowning. The darker side of this symbolizes death. Two birds are shown one flies higher then the other. There are two big rocks in the water on is larger than the other and it seems to have a tunnel in the center of it, a passage maybe. They’re are trees in the front of the painting wit the man in the red, but they look not green but a dark color, as to say if they were dying. I think that the title is called Landscape with the fall of Icarus because it tells the story of Icarus and Daedalus. Its just goes to show the conflict of human vs. Nature. Don’t mess with the way things are that’s they way there supposed to be, that if you go and try to change it , it will only change you
The title makes one wonder why didn’t the artist make it better. But as I look more and more at the painting and try to connect it to the title I start realizing why Pieter Bruegal chose the title. In the panting there is a person feet up in the water most likely Icarus. While this is happening though, all the
other people in the painting seem to be doing there daily routine as if nothing happened. It is as if nobody cared any more when they seemed him drown and die, not as a god but a mere human. It is also weird because while we were reading the poem I actually pictured the sun bright in the back. What I am really wondering is, Where is Daedalus? Since the story has a lot to do with Daedalus himself I can only get lost in the picture and wonder why Pieter Bruegal chose not to put him in there. The painting seems to really focus on the simple people like the shepard, ploughman, and the fisherman mentioned on the poem. The artist does this as if he wanted us to look through the common people’s eyes, not Daedalus’s. I also noticed that the painting seems to go from light to darkness. As if from where Icarus took off it was light and towards his death the painting gives us more of a dark feeling. There are three sailing boats on the dark water not mentioned in the poem. The vivid ploughman is wearing a bright red shirt, which is the first thing the catches my eye, as I focus my eyes onto the painting. The red seems to emphasize death as if foreshadowing Icarus death. There is a tree near Icaruses’ legs as if trying to help him but can’t because the water is to strong. The second person I see when look at the picture is the Sheppard. He’s wearing light blue and looking up, unlike the ploughman which is wearing red and looking down. It’s as if the Sheppard is praying for the gods and Icarus, and the ploughman is looking down in shame and disappointment. As I let myself sink in with the picture I notice there are no flowers only dark and shady plants and trees. I find this weird because in the poem about this picture the author say’s that Pieter Bruegal indicates that’s spring. The fisherman seems to not be trying to help Icarus, even though he’s close to him. I’m sure that Pieter did this on purpose to impose on how much the people fear the gods. The edge of the painting seems to be surrounded by mountains. On the left side of the mountains there are two small black birds. Also in the left middle of the painting in the water there is an isolated island which seems to be where Daedalus and Icarus were imprisoned. In the back lies a city that seems to have a lot of buildings in. It also seems a lot more colorful than the other objects and people in the picture. Something else I noticed is the water near where Icarus is drowning in seems to be a lot darker and creepier than the rest of the sea that it lays on. Especially in the middle of the sea it seems the brightest. The ploughman is with a brown horse which its seems that the horse is carrying the plough. It also seems that the ploughman is holding a whip in his hand slashing the horse. The Sheppard in the other hand seems to be carrying for his sheep and there’s one even right next to him. Further more indicating that there is a difference between the Sheppard and the ploughman in terms of good and evil. The sailing ships in the water appear to be pretty big. The big ship the one closest to the viewer seems to be sailing towards the city. The ship is brown and the ship seems to be empty like a ghost ship. That ship is also the one near the closest to Icarus. In the field of sheep there seems to be only two black ones and the rest are white. One of the black sheep is surrounded by a group of white ones. The field where the ploughman is there are brown steps leading to him. There is one solo island with absolutely nothing on it except for some few shades of green. The sky seems to have a lot going on. It has all different tones of blue and yellow. It’s nice and bright in the middle but dark and gloomy towards the side. The island where Icarus and Daedalus were imprisoned on there is a massive building with one door in the front. This is from my readings the maze Daedalus invented and that’s the reason he was imprisoned.
When looking at Pieter Bruegel’s, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, the first thing noticed is a farmer plowing his field. He’s wearing a bright red shirt under a drab green smock thing. He does not seem to be paying attention to anything much except his job. His horse is dark brown and looks kind of depressed. There is a Shepard below the farmer. He’s hanging out with his flock of sheep. The Shepard doesn’t seem to be paying attention to anything either. It looks like he’s gazing off at something in the sky, maybe Daedalus still flying through the sky or maybe the stick he is leaning on. Most of his sheep are white with a couple black ones thrown in the mix. There is a ship a little ways right of the Shepard. It looks like some kind of official boat like one of King Minos’s battle ships. Obviously it is one of the ships that stop Daedalus and Icarus from escaping by the sea. Below the ship is a pair of legs that most likely belong to Icarus who flew to high and melted the wax in his wings. It doesn’t seem like anyone notices and you can definitely see his death was hushed by the sea. The water where the body of Icarus is looks like it is in shadows unlike the water in the middle of the picture where the sun is clearly shining and making the water brighter and more pleasant looking. It almost looks like the sun is either setting or rising. The sky looks a little bit cloudy but the sun is still shining. The two top corners of the sky look like it might start raining. You can see a man who looks like he is reaching for something in the water, however he’s probably the fisherman described in the poem. He seems to be the closest to where Icarus died but still seems to have no idea what happened to Icarus. There is another battle ship a little further out in the bay. You can see and island out in the bay. You can kind of make out some kind of structure on the closest end of the island. You can see a port city in the left corner of the paining. There are mountain ranges on both sides of the island. They’re white and look like they’re covered in snow. There is also a little castle sort of structure in the middle of the bay. It looks like some kind of prison that has a little clump of trees and bushes towards the back. The trees to the left of the painting are really dark and look blacker than green. They seem to be covering some kind of house or farm. There are a few small ships out in the bay as well. All the sails on all the boats in the painting are blowing to the left of the painting. Also on the left of the painting you can kind of make out some sort of bird looking object flying near a mountain. That’s most likely Deadalus still flying away from Crete. Closer to the prison in the bay you can make something out in the water. It looks like a pair of wings, obviously Icarus’s wings that melted off of him when he got too close to the sun. There are also a couple rocks a little ways away from the prison structure. One is larger than the other and on my first look they resembled a whale and its tale sticking out of the water. The mountains closer to the city on the left hand side look more flat and tamed than the mountains on the right side of the painting. The mountains on the right side of the painting look cold and ragged. The painting definitely focuses on the farmer the most out of everything in the painting. He is the first thing my eyes fall on whenever I look at the painting. The painting barely shows Daedalus or Icarus. If it was not for the title you wouldn’t even know they had anything to do with the painting. Even the Shepard and the fisherman stick out more than Daedalus and Icarus. The painting tries to touch on the lesson that nature should not be tested. It also shows how much we get from nature. The farmer who has half his field plowed, the fisherman making a living off the fish he catches and the Shepard doing whatever it is that Shepard’s do are all examples of people making a living off nature.
The main idea that I am trying to communicate about this image is that it focuses on various parts of the poem. The main idea that I am trying to figure out is what the image tells us. I know that the setting took place in Crete so hat explains the close related town in the back of the picture. It’s amazing how the picture shows when Icarus fall into the river. But I would like to know why he was unnoticed by the people surrounding him. It almost as if the picture was saying that even though Icarus was trying to persue a godly duty that his downfall was when he died. The people just over looked him as if he was just an ordinary boy, which he was. Unlike the poem of Daedalus and Icarus, this picture is very opposite. It shows that instead if the ploughman and Shepard looking at Icarus in the sky the picture show us that while Icarus was drowning, they were looking up towards the sky as if nothing even mattered to them.
The key parts that are in this image are that it is all about how Man vs. Nature. Man meaning the methodical Gods such as Icarus and Deadalus and nature is referring to the actual (landscape) such as the surroundings. The key elements of the image is that I noticed how Icarus plunged into the see and is basically drowning in sight while the Shepard, Laborer, and the sailor is going on about daily life not even looking into his direction. I also noticed that the Shepard is looking up towards the sky as if something remarkable had just happen not even noticing that Icarus is drowning in the sea. The ocean seems to take a massive amount of space going back to how “the sea hushed him”. The cleverness that Daedalus had which mad Icarus die wasn’t even praised for because when it was all said and done the people of the city looked to them as humans instead of Gods, which they so desperately wanted to be. The title of the poem which is “Landscape with the fall of Icarus”, I believe represents were Icarus died. The Landscape would probably be the setting of were he happened to die which will be the river now named after him. In this poem the title absolutely goes directly with the concept of what is happening in the drawing. I like that because it’s less confusing to predict what is happening. Overall the poem and the drawing are opposite because one tells us that when Icarus had died, everyone one from below was looking at him while falling. The drawing shows us otherwise, which has a Shepard looking up into the sky instead of Icraus in the river drowning. So the two has different aspects from each other.
The title of the image is the Landscape of the fall of Icarus which connects with the story Daelarus and Icarus. The image is based on the fall of Icarus, and what was around that scene. There is a lot going on in this picture. What really caught my eye in the picture was that the shepherd, who was wearing a blue shirt and brown pants, is looking up. I think he sees Daelarus flying in the air, which happens in the story, and the shepherd thinks it is a God. What also caught my eye was the fisher man he is wearing a white shirt and brown pants doing something in the water. There is icarus’s feet in the water and I he’s drowning because in the story, Daelarus and Icarus, icarus and his dad were flying across the ocean to escape from where they were at and icarus didn’t listen and flu to high. Icarus’s wings started melting and he fell in the water. I also notice this farming man. He is wearing a red shirt underneath a tan color coat with brown leggings and black shoes. He has a wipe in his left hand and in his right hand he is holding on to his plow. The plow is cutting through the ground making the soil look as if it is steps that are leading up. The plow is connected to a donkey which is walking forward. The donkey’s front legs are being covered by a dead looking bush. He is plowing a small piece of land and looks like the plow markings go into. To the right of the donkey there is a small patch of trees and a bush or two. Brueghel also creates the painting with lots of back ground. There are trees, lots of boats, lots of land, and buildings.
In the painting, I notice the water to the right is pure aqua. Where this water is there is a small island with a stone cave on it. The cave is grey with a small black whole in the bottom east part of the island. In font of the hole is a small patch of sand. Behind the stone cave is a bunch of trees. I think that is where Icarus and dealarus escape from. Brueghel uses different colors to brightening up the image. He uses the sun to do that and he put severe background pictures such as the boats and the trees and the other islands. The painting looks like it is the season of fall because the look in the painting is dark and bright at the same time so it must be chilly at this time. The two ships that are in the ocean are taken shipments to the town. One of the boats is close to the town. The leaves that are around the farmer are green and they are being eaten by the sheep. The dogs that are helping the Sheppard are brown. Brueghel only created two birds in the painting. They are black birds. One is flying over the big mountains near the island Icarus and Dealarus escaped from and the other is flying close near the water, near trees.
I think that what happens in most of the painting is because of Icarus’ death. How he didn’t listen to his father and got himself drowned. And when he drowned, it started to get dark everywhere on the island. And how the fisherman and the man on the boat weren’t able to save him is because he was a foolish child trying to impress his father by showing him that he could fly without his help. I think that the point of the myth is that we should always listen to our elders even if we don’t want to they are only looking out for us. It looks like the people who are going on about their business don’t live on Crete’s island or kingdom. In the painting it looks to me like if you want to go somewhere you have to travel by boat which is why there are a lot of boats in the water. I also noticed that in most parts of the painting, it is very bright and colorful, but where Icarus is drowning everything seems to be getting darker by the minute or so. Even the sky is starting to loose its bright yellow color and turning into a dark gray mixed with blue, yellow, and orange. I would say that the only reason where the man with the sheeps and the man with horse are bright is because there probably is some kind of light shining on top of them, guiding them in what they are doing. And it looks like they aren’t really paying any attention to what is happening to Icarus either.
Duy 10-6-07
Bruegals
thousand
words
Well the first thing that caught my eyes was the red color man. The
Image of this painting seems to be mostly darker colors but this mad in
The red is very distinctive. Not only is his color distinctive but him
Also is larger then the other people. This may be because he is more
Important. He seems to be plowing the ground and not really harming
Nature. I then also see a little black door in the big rock in the
Island. I concluded that may be because the painting or the artists is
Trying to say that the chance of escaping the exile was slim. Then in
The bottom right corner I noticed nobody noticing Icarus I believe in
The water. He seems to be drowning. This I believe was a little
Different from the poem because the poem explained that people were
Noticing. I think that this painting may be foreshadowing cirrus’s fall
or death. If you look a little closer near Icarus there is a turtle
Which maybe symbolize longevity or long life which is very ironic for?
Icarus. The people are not really noticing maybe because in the story
Or
Myth it said the sea hushed him. I believe that that is the reason why
Nobody seems to notice. The other thing I notice is the rather large
Tree. The large tree is the biggest painted thing in this picture. This
May symbolize nature very much. The sun is low but in the myth it was
Very hot. The sun here seems to be going down. There is also a ship
Near
By Icarus. The colors used for this painting seems more of a darker old
Color. I find the ship or large boat very weird. The sail on the boat
Seems to be blowing a lot but the people near by seems normal. As of if
It has no affect on the people. The man in the blue seems to still be
Looking in the sky. The red man who does not notice and is minding his
Own business seems to be significantly larger than everything else. The
Water seems to have a weird color almost greenish. The water is
Definitely not clear which can also mean unknown. Or maybe even under
Estimated. The water is so powerful it has the power to kill its
Victim
Quietly and quickly. In the back there seems to be mountains in a white
Color. The white color and then as it comes closer there color changed
Into a more brighter color which I concluded that the further back in
The painting the colder it gets. Another thing that caught my eye was another man I seen in the lower left of the picture. It seems to be a man that is attempting to rescuer Icarus. I am unsure on why the man can see and only that man can see Icarus. I am not even sure if the man is trying to rescuer Icarus but it seems so. The Red man again, I believe to be the most symbolic. He does not show the face of the man in the red for a reason. A reason that I believe is very important. The man in the red does not show his face because that is how life should be live according to bruegals painting. Living life simple and not climbing that ladder to high be the best way to live life. IN other words, don’t try to hard and go so high up in the sky. IN the poem Icarus went to high in the sky and he flew near the sun. As Icarus flew near the sun it resulted in the wax melting. When the wax melted, Icarus’s wings then fell off and into the water he went. The water was so powerful it hushed Icarus. The moral is very similar to the painting because the painting seems to describe that the man who does not go very high is in the end the most important/ Icarus had a downfall that resulted in his death because he went to high. I think that that is the main reason for the man in the red is so big and bright. Not only is he big and bright but he also is centered in the picture. Also, in the background towards the left of the painting that Brue gal painted, is what seems to be an island. An island that if full of big buildings and architecture. I think that the buildings are symbolizing the city. What I don’t understand is why the city is far over there and icarus is drowning on the otherside. Where was Icarus and Deals trying to go? Then I also noticed the bluesman hoarding the sheep. He seems to be holding a large stick and herding sheep’s. I wonder why if Icarus is in the water then why is the man in the blue still staring up in the skies? There seems to be 3 men in the picture that are all doing different things. One man is near the water, well he seems to bne a fisherman. The other herding sheeps . Paying attention to the skies not paying attention to his sheeps.
A man that seems to be the most symbolic minding his own business. The most important men ranges from larger to smaller from most important to least important. The water is very large and it also covers most of the land. The water seems very still but the boat on the water seems as if it is having trouble because of the strong wind currents. With wind currents so strong I wonder why the water seems to be so still as if it were the controller. The water seems like it has its own personality and acts in the way it wants to act. Then I also noticed the sun. The sun so far away yet it still has the power to kill icarus or should I say lead to icaru’s downfall. The sun a very powerful symbolical image in this painting plays an important role. Without the sun the painting would have not been the same. After reading tge poem and viewing the painting, I did not picture the painting to be like that. I had another image in my mind.
When you look at this painting you feel like you are on top of a mountain looking down at all the different events going on. The first thing that catches your eye is the farmer ploughing, you are drawn to him because of his bright red shirt. Considering who this painting is supposed to be about it seems a little weird that Brueghel would have the farmer stick out more than Icarus. There is probably a reason for this though. He is hard at work with his horse, which is pulling the plow on the mountain’s green grass. Near the farmer there are trees, I only mention these trees because of how unusually dark they are, still looking shadowed even though the sun is up. Again, Icarus still doesn’t seem as someone or something of importance because if you look past the farmer you see a herder with his sheep. He is in a blue shirt, which sticks out a little because it doesn’t match the color of the ocean. The herder looks distracted looking into the sky. He is probably looking at Icarus’ father flying in the sky, which is unusual to him because man wasn’t meant to fly only gods were. Next, you are drawn to the bright yellow sun sitting on the horizon, most likely rising. If you follow its color into the sky your eyes end up finding the outline of mountains covered in a mild fog. In the upper left hand corner of the painting, a city sits on the waters edge. This city’s buildings are vague except for a few outlined buildings that are closer to the water than the rest. To the left of the city is a sand colored mountain that you can see clearly so it stands out, it causes you to see a small island with a mountain on top of it. The small island with a mountain sticks out on the water because of how dark the mountain is. The mountain has an opening on it, suggesting it has a cave inside of it. Surrounding the island with a mountain on it is a blue ocean. There are a few boats out at sea, one looks like it is heading for another island. This island is sand colored with no mountain on top of it. It is hard to tell what is on this island, it may be buildings but it is just too blurry to see. In the bottom right corner is the clearest boat that is at sea. It is closer to the mountain both the farmer and herder are on. Also in the bottom right had corner of the painting, is a fisherman hard at work. If you didn’t know the story behind this painting you might think he is just a person standing on the water’s edge. In the water you see a set of legs sticking out. We know that the drowning person is Icarus. Usually when someone hits the water it makes a loud splash sound, and when that happens, you usually stop what you are doing to see what made that sound. Icarus is drowning and no one seems to notice, there are people around who might have been able to save him but because they don’t seem to see him he ends up drowning. The way Brueghel painted Icarus drowning is significant. With only his legs sticking out of the water he can’t yell for someone to help him. If you read “the Story of Daedalus and Icarus”, you would know that it said the sea hushed Icarus. The sea surrounding Icarus and the boat near him isn’t like the rest of the water in the painting. The rest of the water is calm and light blue, the water surrounding Icarus and the boat is rough and choppy almost as if it is upset about what is going on. The sea could be angry for having to kill Icarus because it is a waste of a young person’s life. Or maybe the sea feels bothered by Icarus drowning in it. It looks like Icarus is close enough to the shore line that if he knew how to swim he could have lived. Most likely nature is punishing his father for trying to defy its laws by taking his son away from him. People were not meant to fly, only certain animals and Gods were. Once Daedalus actually figured out how to fly, nature had to stop him. The best way to do that would be to make him never want to fly again. And the greatest punishment would be to take his son away from him. Not killing him, because now he has to live the rest of his life knowing he is the reason his son is dead.
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