The Fall of Icarus

Icarus falls as the wings made by Daedalus fail in the heat of the sun. The chapter begins with their attempt to escape Crete through the one route Minos cannot close: the air. Daedalus warns his son to keep between the damp sea below and the burning height above, but exhilaration draws Icarus upwards.

The commentary records both the familiar winged flight and an alternative reading involving newly devised sailing vessels. The engraving retains the impossible aerial event, with the falling body and scattered feathers suspended above a world that continues at a distance.

Historical context is adapted from the accompanying commentary by Antoine de La Barre de Beaumarchais. Its interpretations reflect the period in which the book was published.

This edition follows plate 36 in Le Temple des Muses. The complete historical page and its explanatory text remain available in the source record. Source attribution: Bernard Picart and other engravers, Le Temple des Muses (1749 edition). Museum date: 1749 (publication). Source medium: Engraving, inner pictorial scene. Source portfolio: Le Temple des Muses, plate 36.

The inner illustration has been straightened and extracted from its surrounding engraved frame, caption and paper. The comparison shows that extracted engraving beside Surrealium's contemporary colour interpretation.

Surrealium's contemporary AI-assisted colour interpretation takes this print as its starting point. The colours are interpretive choices made for this edition.

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