Although 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. The van Buuren version is considered be an early copy by an unknown artist.
Autumn Walk at Sunset | Painting of Fall Colors and Sky
This is the photo that inspired me to create this painting, which I took with my cell phone camera on an autumn walk around my neighborhood last year.
A tree full of red autumn leaves takes up most of the space on the 20″-tall wood panel.
The sky behind the red leaves is a soft lavender, streaked with the peachy tones of the sunset clouds.
Many tiny branches reach upwards into the sky.
The deep magenta of the leaves is punctuated by some leaves that are a brighter orange color.
At the bottom is the setting sun, bursting from behind a tall evergreen in the distance.
The golden rays of the sun reach out towards us.
This painting captures a moment that makes us say, “wow!”
Feel free to contact me with any questions about purchasing the original, or if you’d like to order a print of this painting.
Sarah Addison Allen, First Frost
Marcia Straub // Getty Images
“It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon.”
Katie Nicole Felton
Olena Ruban // Getty Images
“Some say fall is the season when the leaves change. I say it’s the season when my sweat pants never change.”
Henry David Thoreau
Marcia Straub // Getty Images
“The thinnest yellow light of November is more warming and exhilarating than any wine they tell of.”
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Analysis of Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Interpretation of Bruegel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus is elusive and has puzzled scholars for decades. Although the title of the painting states the mythological subject, the artist has diminished the significance of the story by minimizing any explicit depictions of the myth. Traditionally, images of Icarus’s fall include both his father Daedalus, still in flight, and Icarus already falling. In Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, the myth is present through a variety of details from Ovid’s poem, yet these could all easily escape the spectator’s eye. It is a painting with a mythological subject, but hidden within an ordinary landscape scene that opens a variety of interpretations and lens of analysis.
Bruegel also produced a series of prints depicting mythological subjects – the story of Icarus and Daedalus included – that interestingly contrasts the handling of the mythological subject in comparison to the painting. The mythological figures are equally minimized within an expansive landscape and the flight and fall of Daedalus and Icarus in the sky plays against a backdrop of an expansive river landscape. Scholars have suggested that the print demonstrates a different way of handling the myth and a crucial difference to the Beaux-Arts work. Where the print depicts the thrilling sight in the sky, the painting shows some moments after, and depicts the more ordinary pitiful fall and death.
One main interpretation of the painting sees the chosen moment in Bruegel’s painting as a deliberate device that articulates a certain apathy of the world towards Icarus. The theme of apathy is further articulated by the inattentiveness of human figures, which contrasts the traditional telling of the myth.
Humanity’s Indifference to suffering
A key clue in interpreting the painting is the artists’s conscious decision to include the three human figures mentioned by Ovid – the plougman, the shepherd and the fisherman -, but deliberately skewing from the Classical source when it comes to their reaction to the fall. Bruegel follows Ovid’d account, even including minor details such as the partridge, the tension of the fisherman’s line or the green colour of the sea, but the attitudes the figures express towards the fall are the reverse of how it was described by Ovid. Instead of being mesmerized by the sight in the sky and stopping with their activities, they seem completely oblivious to Icarus’s flight.
One of the main interpretations of the painting, also popularized by Auden’s poem, sees the attitudes of the three figures towards the circumstances of Icarus’s death as the expression of man’s indifference towards suffering and the passing of others. Death is an ordinary component of the everyday and Bruegel is acknowledging that despite it, daily life continues to go on. On this theme, the painting has been brought in connection with a well-known Flemish proverb, which Bruegel’s painting might be referencing – “No plough stops for a dying man”, recorded as early as 1604.
Scholars have also noted that in line with this reading, the exclusion of the figure of Daedalus in the sky is a deliberate device of making the theme of apathy towards the dying Icarus more prominent. Daedalus’s role in the story is that of the agonized witness to the fall and death of his son. By not depicting the distress of the father, the painting underscores the theme of apathy and indifference.
Moderation in Dutch society
Another interpretation of Bruegel’s Icarus suggests that the painting speaks of the theme of moderation and advocates for the acceptance of one’s position in society. This was a prominent theme in 16th century Dutch painting and thought, especially for the peasantry. In this reading, Icarus departs from moderation and oversteps his place in life. By placing Icarus in the water, instead of depicting him in the air (as he did in his prints), Bruegel stresses his pitiable death, as opposed to the exhilarating flight and sudden fall. The painting depicts the corresponding fate to the circumstances of his actions.
The virtue of moderation is reinforced through the contrast with the hard-working peasant, who cannot afford to stop with his daily labour. Scholar have noted that in Dutch society at the time, it would likely be understood that the peasants are doing the right and moral thing by continuing to concentrate on their labour. Daily labour was seen as an honest and worthy path to salvation, and the peasant should not be diverted from his tasks by getting distracted with the tragic consequences of Icarus’s foolish and extreme actions. The Flemish proverb “And the farmer continued to plough…” is often mentioned with this reading. It speaks of the necessity of farmers to continue working no matter what, because farm work cannot wait.
Why is Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by Pieter Bruegel the Elder important?
Bruegel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus is an important painting that holds a prominent place in the history of Northern Renaissance painting. In art history, 16th century Dutch and Flemish painting represents a response to the Italian Renaissance, with northern artists re-articulating themes and developing new painting styles. Paintings such as Landscape with the Fall of Icarus were instrumental in challenging the established genres in painting. They also contributed to the development of new genres, most notably landscape and genre painting.
New genres and hierarchies of the Northern Renaissance
Whereas Italian painters were concerned with grand historical and mythological themes, artists of the Northern Renaissance turned away from religious subjects and focused on scenes of ordinary life and nature. These were, like the Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, painted in large scale format and represent a blow to the established hierarchy of genres, that among others, dictates the size format of the painting based on the importance of its subject.
The hierarchies of genres in paintings were initially formulated in 16th century Italy and stayed more or less the same until the early 19th century. Later, this rigid order was particularly promoted by 17th century Academic painting. Within the hierarchy, the highest order of paintings were considered to be history paintings, which include historical, religious, allegorical and mythological subjects, and which would be painted in the largest format. Genre paintings, which depict everyday scenes, populated with everyday people, and landscapes were much lower in the hierarchy and would normally be painted in small format.
The composition and size of Landscape with the Fall of Icarus play with the genre hierarchy by hiding, or partially hiding, the crucial theme of the painting. At first glance, the painting seems to belong to the category of genre paintings, however, close inspection and familiarity with the mythological story reveal the image as the highest order of genres, mythological paintings.
In this way, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus combines several key elements of Northern Renaissance painting that developed as a response to Italian painting. It hints at the renewed interest in antiquity that characterize the Italian Renaissance, but minimizes the importance of the myth by placing the central focus on the surrounding natural world, and most prominently, the indifferent peasants.
World Landscape
Paintings such as Landscape with the Fall of Icarus also played an important role in the development of landscape painting. The painting belongs to a compositional type known as a “world landscape”, which was pioneered by Joachim Patinir and perfected by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The world landscape composition features a panoramic landscape seen from an elevated viewpoint and typically includes an expansive array of natural elements such as mountains, lowlands, waters and forests. The subject of the painting is usually a religious or historical narrative, but the figures that represent the story are dwarfed by the surrounding nature.
A defining feature of 16th century world landscapes is the use of three colours (brown, green, blue) to articulate space and depth in the composition. Landscape with the Fall of Icarus adheres to this formula by using brown colours in the foreground, green for the middle part, and blue for distance. The change in the hue of the colour palette in each part of the painting reinforces this clear and yet harmonious delimitation and creates an innovative impression of depth.
Other Artwork by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
- The Fight Between Carnival and Lent by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1559, oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
- Children’s Games by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1560, oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
- The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1562, oil on panel. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
- Landscape with the Flight into Egypt by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1563, oil on panel. Courtlauld Institue of Art, London.
- The Procession to Calvary by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1564, oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
- Winter Landscape with Ice skaters and Bird trap by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1565, oil on panel. Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels.
- The Peasant Wedding by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1567, oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
- The Blind Leading the Blind by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. 1568, distemper on linen canvas. Museo di Capodimonte, Naples.
- Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by Joos de Momper. 1579-1635, oil on canvas. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.
- The Fall of Icarus by Jacob Peter Gowy. 1637, oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
- Daedalus and Icarus by Anthony van Dyck. 1625, oil on canvas. Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.
- Daedalus and Icarus by Charles Le Brun. 1645-46, oil on canvas. Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.
- The Fall of Icarus by Merry-Joseph Blondel. 1819, oil on canvas. Louvre, Paris.
