| The Lament for Icarus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Herbert James Draper |
| Year | 1898 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 180 cm × 150 cm (72 in × 61 in) |
| Location | Tate Britain, London |
The Lament for Icarus is a painting by Herbert James Draper, showing the dead Icarus, surrounded by lamenting nymphs. The wings of Icarus are based on the bird-of-paradise pattern.[1] In 1898, the painting was bought from the Royal Academy exhibition through The Chantrey Bequest, a public fund for purchasing modern art bequeathed by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey, R.A.[2] The Lament for Icarus was subsequently awarded the gold medal at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris.[3]
According to Justine Hopkins, Draper identifies Icarus "with the other heroes of the Pre-Raphaelites and symbolists, who, like James Dean half a century later, manage to live fast, die young and leave a beautiful corpse".[1] (The last half of that comment is based on a line in the 1947 novel Knock on Any Door by Willard Motley and its film adaptation.)
- ^ a b Jacob E. Nyenhuis. Myth and the creative process: Michael Ayrton and the myth of Daedalus, the maze maker, Wayne State University Press, 2003, p. 54, ISBN 0-8143-3002-9
- ^ "The Chantrey Bequest">
- ^ "Art Reproduction of Draper". Allartclassic.com. Retrieved 19 November 2010.