Below by the sea, a fisherman sits by the water. On a plane below below him, a sheep shepherd is leaning on his stick, while absent-mindedly looking upwards. The most prominent figure in the foreground is a farmer, ploughing the earth. It features several separated figures attending to their daily duties in the foreground, while the background opens up to a sweeping panorama of the sea. Landscape with the Fall of Icarus depicts an expansive landscape, diagonally extending from the left front towards the setting sun on the right. What is Depicted in Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by Pieter Bruegel the Elder? The van Buuren version is considered be an early copy by an unknown artist. Furthermore, the copy in the van Buuren museum has been shown to have a technique that cannot be attributed to Pieter Bruegel.Īlthough not yet universally accepted by scholars, these recent technical examinations suggest that the work in the Brussels Royal Museums of Fine Arts was most likely painted by Pieter Bruegel the Elder himself, or somebody who was closely familiar with his technique – most probably his son and student, Pieter Bruegel the Younger. A further reinterpretation of the reflectograms drew the conclusion that the technique and underdrawing style match other certified works from Pieter Bruegel the Elder.
However, recent infrared reflectography of the painting’s underdrawing has revealed that the work in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts was originally a panel painting that had been transferred to canvas, which aligns it more with Bruegel’s typical style of painting on panel. 1558 has been suggested for the lost Bruegel original, while the copies are thought to have been produced in the 1560s. This would also explain the varying details (figure of Daedalus, the sun) between the two versions. Second Versionįor many years both paintings were thought to be copies of a lost original by Bruegel, as scholar have determined that the overall composition of the painting is certainly by the Flemish master. It was acquired by Daniel van Buuren for his private house, and has been in the Musée David et Alice van Buuren in Brussels since 1953. This version of the painting is generally considered inferior to the Brussels version. More controversy arose in 1935 with the discovery of a second version of the painting, which differs from the 1912 one in only two details: the inclusion of the figure of Daedalus in the air, with the shepherd’s gaze directed at him and the positioning of the sun. Most notably, the work stands out among the works of Bruegel as the only oil painting on canvas, since he made all his paintings in either oil on panel or tempera on canvas. The painting was not signed, nor dated, and its authenticity as a work by Pieter Bruegel the Elder has been a major point of contention among art historians ever since. The painting was an unknown work until it appeared on the art market in 1912 and was acquired by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. There is no general consensus among scholars who painted Landscape with the Fall of Icarus. Who painted Landscape with the Fall of Icarus? The painting is also the subject of “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” by William Carlos Williams, as well as Michael Hamburger’s “Lines on Bruegel’s Icarus”. It inspired many poets, among which W.H.Auden, who described the painting in his famous poem “Musée des Beaux-Arts”. It has become renown for its unorthodox treatment of the mythological story, its elusive meaning and its stark noncompliance with the hierarchy of genres in painting. The painting depicts the story of Icarus from Greek mythology and is largely based on the account in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Nowadays the painting is generally considered to be an early copy of a lost Bruegel original, although recent technical examinations have re-opened the question. For a long time, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus was thought to be the work of the leading painter of Northern Renaissance, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, however, recent research has regarded this attribution as doubtful.
It is an oil on canvas painting, measuring 73.5 x 112 cm. Landscape with the Fall of Icarus is a famous Northern Renaissance painting, currently on display in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.