Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

Pieter Bruegel’s painting, Landscape with the fall of Icarus, depicts the scene in the myth where Icarus has fallen into the sea after his wings have melted. The painting has all of the aspects f life going on at that time the myth took place. There is a farmer plowing his fields in the foreground and a large trading settlement in the background along with snow covered mountains to the west across the vast harbor leading to the sea in the center of the painting. I am guessing that this is Minos. There is also a small rock island in the middle of the harbor with a sole opening that probably leads to a cave or an underground labyrinth. If one does not have a keen eye, you may overlook the shepherd tending to his flock, looking up at the sky and wondering why he cannot just fly away like the seagulls above the water. The other fine point of the painting that one may easily overlook is the feet of Icarus as he falls into the water. They are sticking up out of the water and nobody seems to have noticed. He is just another foolish little boy who has not heeded the word of his father.

The actual structure of the painting says a lot about itself. There is a lot of symbolism behind where certain things are placed within the picture. I noticed that there are three defined ships in the painting all with their sails pointing towards the settlement. All winds blow towards the civilization and the freedom. Perhaps this settlement was the destination that Daedylus and Icarus had in mind when they lifted off from Minos. Along the bottom of the painting depicts the life of the peasants and the serfs of the time who were born and died in the fishing villages of the Greek coast. This life is like the prison that Daedylus and Icarus were forced to live in. Along the top of the painting there is the Sun and a bustling trade settlement filled with beautiful white buildings that almost look like a depiction of Heaven. Everyone in the painting would have a better life if they could find a way to get there. Icarus had a chance but he did not head his father’s warnings. Icarus and his father were flying to a better life, towards the light and the heaven and leaving behind the dark and damp world of Minos represented by the dark colors chosen. In the middle of the harbor there is a small, rocky island with some thick vegetation at the back end of it. In the front of the rocky citadel of the island, there is a large door to a cavern. This may represent the challenge of making it through the labyrinth of life and ending up on the other side where life is greener and more beautiful. It is almost like a sacred grove on an island with a dungeon. Maybe it is the actual Minos. The vast harbor in the center of the painting separates two very different coasts. On the west coast there is the settlement surrounded by lush forests almost jungles and the east coast is comprised solely of snow-covered mountains that look inaccessible by explorers. There is no life on the east coast and all boats and life are on the west side of the painting.

The peasant farmer wearing the grey and red clothes behind the horse and plow will never get out of that life. They never had lotteries back then. He is forced to work behind the plow for the rest of his life and perhaps that is why his head is painted facing downwards in a kind of sulking state because he is imprisoned in a life that he will never be able to get out of. There is also the shepherd and his sheep dog. The shepherd is depicted looking up into the sky daydreaming while his sheep are grazing at the seaside. He seems to be asking the God’s in his mind why he was born a shepherd and not a King. He wants to leave the island and explore the world like Icarus had the chance to. There is also a man who seems to be fishing at the shore and he is bending over the water with his hand in the air. He seems to be holding some sort of fishing line dangling over the water. Over his left shoulder, there is a tiny iguana-looking creature that reminds me of the snake from the Garden of Eden. It looks like the demon that persuades Adam and Eve to take a bite out of the apple but this time the snake/iguana has persuaded Icarus to fly towards the sun because of its warmth and beauty. Icarus failed to remember that the wax on his wings would melt the closer he flew towards the sun. The snake is small and blends in with the surrounding shrubbery and it looks like it is coming out of the tree branch; almost as if it is apart of the island of Minos. It does want to let go of Icarus and it looks like it’s laughing since he fell for the trap and into the ocean.

One of the biggest things that I noticed before I even looked at the rest of the painting was that it seems as if nobody has noticed Icarus in the water. The idea definitely explains the title for me and its order of the words; “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”. The significance of having the word “landscape” before the main character Icarus highlights his place in the society of the time. The farmer, the shepherd, the fisherman, and the boats all continue with their lives. The demonic snake laughs as it watches Icarus drown in the large harbor. The only thing that seems to be missing from the painting is Daedylus himself. Why isn’t he in the painting with Icarus? Why isn’t he shown continuing to fly toward civilization?