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| Giulio Romano Daedalus and Icarus ca. 1530-35 drawing Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Giovanni da Castelbolognese Fall of Icarus ca. 1540-45 rock crystal intaglio Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Anonymous Italian Maker Fall of Icarus ca. 1580-1620 onyx cameo Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Hendrik Goltzius after Cornelis van Haarlem Fall of Icarus ca. 1588 engraving Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| Anthony van Dyck Daedalus and Icarus ca. 1615-25 oil on canvas Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto |
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| Simon Vouet Daedalus and Icarus ca. 1625 oil on canvas Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut |
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| Andrea Sacchi Daedalus and Icarus ca. 1645 oil on canvas Musei di Strada Nuova, Genoa |
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| Charles Le Brun Daedalus and Icarus ca. 1664-65 oil on canvas Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
from The Metamorphoses
Daedalus now had come to detest his protracted exile
in Crete and was longing to visit his native country again,
but his way was barred by the sea. 'King Minos can block my escape
by land or water,' he sighed. 'The air, at least, is still open;
my path lies there. He is lord of the world, but not lord of the sky.'
So saying, he put his mind to techniques unexplored before
and altered the laws of nature. He carefully layered some feathers,
the smallest to start with, the shorter positioned next to the longer –
you'd think they had grown like that – as sometimes rustic panpipes
rise in a gradual slope with their reeds of unequal length;
and then he bound them with twine in the middle and wax at the bottom.
This neatly compacted plumage he curved in a gentle camber
to imitate real birds' wings. His young son Icarus, standing
beside him and little aware of the threat to himself he was touching,
smiled as he caught at the feathers fluttering in the breeze;
and now and again he would carelessly soften the yellow wax
with his thumb, enjoying his game as a meddled and interfered
with his father's wonderful work. But soon the finishing touches
were deftly laid, and Daedalus balanced his aged body
on both of his wings, then beat at the air and hovered suspended.
Next he instructed his son: 'Now, Icarus, listen carefully!
Keep to the middle way. If you fly too low, the water
will clog your wings; if you fly too high, they'll be scorched by fire.
Fly between sea and sun. No need to determine your course
by Boötes, the Bear, or Orion's naked sword, like a sailor.
Simply follow my lead.' As he gave his pupil his flying
orders, he fitted the wings on the boy's inexperienced shoulders;
and while he did it the old man's cheeks were wet with his tears
and his hands were trembling in fatherly fear."
– Ovid (8 AD), translated by David Raeburn (2004)
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| Joost de Momper the Younger Landscape with the Fall of Icarus before 1635 oil on panel Nationalmuseum, Stockholm |
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| Francesco Allegrini Fall of Icarus before 1679 oil on paper, mounted on panel Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
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| Merry-Joseph Blondel Fall of Icarus 1819 ceiling painting Rotonde d'Apollon, Louvre |
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| Abraham Bloemaert Lucht (Fall of Icarus) ca. 1632 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Stefano della Bella Icarus and Daedalus (from Jeu de Mythologie) 1644 etching Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Frans Xaver Wagenschön Daedalus forming the wings of Icarus with melted wax before 1790 drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Anonymous Sculptor Daedalus and Icarus (modern forgery of Roman relief) undated marble Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |