| Popis: |
The writer discusses Pieter Bruegel the Elder's treatment of the traditional tragedy of Daedalus and Icarus in his painting The Fall of Icarus (Brussels, Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts). This tragedy is best preserved by Ovid, mostly in the Metamorphoses, and Bruegel's painting clearly demonstrates his familiarity with Ovid. There are some anomalies in Bruegel's depiction of the story, however: There is an anonymous human corpse seen at the far left, for example; the three genre figures are the reverse of those characterized by Ovid, for they offer no notice of the fall of Icarus, who splashes into the sea in an obscure corner of the painting; and Daedalus is absent. The writer goes on to examine the visual and literary antecedents that Bruegel may have incorporated into the painting, arguing that his inverted use of traditional attitudes and elements would seem to be a satirical tactic used to focus on the disturbing aspect of apathy toward human suffering. |
