Chagall's complex narrative and visual structure impart a sense of movement, taking advantage of linear perspective to create an illusion of depth on a two-dimensional surface. He plunged into the sea, and his remains were found in a crumpled heap.
Most viewers have pointed out how the graceful arc of Icarus' body falls into the sea. In addition to its obvious symbolism, one of the most striking facets of Icarus is how profoundly it conveys feelings regarding flight, dreams, movement, and death. The Fall of Icarus is among his best and most educative works. In his long and productive creative life, Marc Chagall ventured into almost every genre imaginable: portraiture, still-life, landscape, cityscape. He felt an unconquerable urge to fly towards heaven, as close to the sun as he could. As they were approaching the island of Samos, Icarus turned arrogant. Now they were out of Minos’ reach, but not safe. Marc Chagall is one of the world's most famous living painters and came from a family closely identified with islands since the 17th Century. The Fall of Icarus, Jacob Peter Gowy, after Rubens, 1636-1638, Prado, Madrid Daedalus and Icarus flew and left Crete behind them. According to Chagall, Icarus puts self-love before love for others and this lead to him dying by drowning as opposed to soaring majestically through the clouds, like Daedalus. Daedalus had constructed the wings, but Icarus, not having sufficient strength to soar on his own, was forced down into the sea. For one to fly so close to the sun, one must be completely self-powered. However, the scene portrayed in the bottom right corner is more traditional and recalls other works by Chagall of this period depicting a forest with a river and bridge.Ĭhagall explains a story of ambition and the desire for freedom that Icarus had. Viewers can also see the billowing landscape and clouds in the bottom right and the landscape at the upper left. For instance, in the top left, viewers can see Icarus suspended in a bubble-like space formed from the U-shaped motif of his extended arms and legs.įractured forms with soft edges are a feature of Chagall's work.
For instance, like in many paintings by Chagall and other artists who were inspired by primitivism, the extreme flatness of space recalls medieval manuscript illustrations of religious stories. There are many levels that reward further exploration shown by Icarus. On the surface, Icarus is a complex composition with intricate sub-textual references to various mythologies.
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