Icarus Observation

1. When you first looked at the painting, what was the first thing you noticed? How long did it take for you to notice Icarus’ legs in the bottom right-hand corner?

The first things I noticed when I saw the painting were the ships in the water. I didn’t notice Icarus’ legs until someone pointed it out.

2. How would you describe the tone of the painting? Give two examples from the scene that support your conclusion.

Part of the painting’s tone is happy because of the bright colours. For example, the man's shirt and the blue water. The other part is a bit depressing because all the colours fade into darker ones and shadows. The bottom right part of the painting is where Icarus fell and where the colours drain.

3. What viewpoint did Brueghel

I think this is the viewpoint of Daedalus after he landed on ground. He’s looking down at his dead son. This interests me because once I figured it out, it gave the rest of the painting a whole new meaning, and I understood why the colour was being drained where Icarus was.

4. How do the artist’s color and lighting choices impact the message the viewer takes away from the painting?

The artists colours reflect a lot off the painting. First of all, it shows that it isn’t in our time, but a while back. What the colours impact the most though is the scene of where Icarus is. When you get to where his legs are the colours get duller and darker and it symbolises sadness and his death.

5. Although the death of Icarus is the critical piece of this narrative scene, this is not a painting about death. What is Breughel’s message to the viewer?

From what I understood, Breughel’s message is that your mistake is only yours, and once you make it, no one will care anymore. You can clearly see that everyone else is moving on with their lives and doing their jobs not looking or caring about Icarus. This gives me the idea that Breughel is trying to show us that to the rest of the world we are nobody special, and no one will