The Plunge of Icarus

I would have forgotten about the Greek legend had it not been for Pieter Bruegel's green water.  I was given a book with his painting "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" in it, and the yellow light reflecting upon the blue water creates this beautiful mysterious green that attracts my eye everytime I flip through the pages.

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, 1558

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Oil on Wood, 29x44"

This image of the painting above is a bit different in color from the image found in the book.  I wonder what the truth of the colors really are and if perhaps the image found in my book is prior to be cleaned.  I guess I'll find out if I ever get the opportunity to go to the Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium.

Besides enjoying the green water, I also adore the story of Icarus.  Upon first hearing the story, we all like to laugh at Icarus's foolish ways and tragic end.  The lesson is clear.  Think before you act and listen to your elders...at least that's what I got from it in my youth.  However, now I see it differently.  I think many of us have been like Icarus.  Rebellious, and learning our lessons the hard way.  I know I have been this way many times and I think my parents would vouch for that, as maybe many of your parents and teachers would for you.

Stubborn or determined is only differentiated by perspective and sometimes it pays off and other times it doesn't.  Think of the explorers in the days when people thought the world was flat.  Imagine what would remain yet to be discovered if people had just followed without questioning.  There are of course countless other examples in every facet of our human history, but the flat world came to mind.  In their minds and others, they were sacrificing their lives to find the answers.  They were fools flying towards the sun with wings of feathers and wax.

Alice in Wonderland - if she had never followed the white rabbit out of curiousity and gone down the rabbit hole, her tale would have ended as soon as it began.  Who would want to read that?  Yes, she did get herself in quite a mess, but it was all worth it.  The stories she could tell up at a tavern in old age that would put local fishermen to shame. hahaha

The painting I have in the works is based upon the fall of Icarus, and is almost finished now.  It is an underwater landscape with the residual bubbles flying up from Icarus's plunge to further depths. 

The Plunge of Icarus, 2012

Oil on canvas, 24x18"

Krystal Booth

Cheers to your weekend and I hope all your risks will bless you with richness of tales to tell, lessons learned, and blissful endings.