HENRI MATISSE
(Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France, 1869 – Nice, France, 1954)
The Fall of Icarus, 1939
1988 Edition Lithograph
MAB’s permanent collection
In Greek mythology, Icarus is the son of Daedalus, a famous architect from Athens who lived on the island of Crete. Daedalus lost the favor of the Cretan king and was imprisoned with his son in the Minotaur’s labyrinth, which he himself had built some time before. The only possible route to escape was through the air but to do so, you needed wings. Daedalus, with his great ingenuity, undertakes the creation of two pairs of wings with bird feathers joined together with wax for himself and his son. They rehearsed the flight and began to escape. The only caveat that Daedalus told his son Icarus was not to fly near the sun, because his wings were glued with wax and the heat could melt them, causing him to fall into the sea. Icarus ignored his father’s advice and felt confident as he flew higher and higher and closer to the sun. Suddenly, his wings began to detach and he fell swiftly into the sea. Daedalus witnessed the death of his son from above.