Representation of Mythological Figures: Icarus

Frederic Leighton, Icarus and Daedalus, 1869

His father made him wings and glued them with wax; told him not to go near the sun as it would melt. He flied in the skies and thought nothing can do him any harm. He was young, he was curious, he was high with the feeling of fly. His decision to go up to the skies to reach the sun is not because of his greed, not because of going out of the order of the "father". He just wanted to see more. It was only for knowing what is out there. He wanted to get out of the borders of reality, he wanted  to feel the beauty of the existence. He went higher, wax melted down, he felt down.

Herbert James Draper, The Lament For Icarus 1898

Alongside his tragic story, Icarus has been one of the most romantic figures the world has ever seen. He was iconized by the best poets, painters and writers because of numerous themes from his story. His story is widely represented in Renaissance and Romantic Era.

Pieter Pauwel Rubens, The Fall of Icarus, 1636

Charles Le Brun, Daedalus and Icarus, 1642

Domenico Piola, Daedalus and Icarus, 1670