Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

c. 1560 · Oil on canvas (transferred from panel) · Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels

Size3:2 ratio

Frame

$79Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (Full)

The Census at Bethlehem (Full)

The Peasant Dance (Full)

3 × $79 at 36 × 24 in, unframed = $237 → $213.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

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About this work

Artist: Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569)
Year: c. 1560
Medium: Oil on canvas (transferred from panel)
Original size: 73.5 × 111 cm
Collection: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
Movement: Northern Renaissance

A ploughman turns his furrows on a cliff above a calm bay, a shepherd gazes at the sky and an angler sits at the water's edge, while a merchant ship sails past; only a pair of legs splashing into the sea near the ship shows that Icarus, who flew too close to the sun on wax wings, has fallen. The story is from Ovid, and it is the only subject from classical mythology in Bruegel's work, but here the event goes unnoticed amid everyday labour. The picture is widely considered not to be by Bruegel himself but an early copy, perhaps from the 1560s, of a lost original from about 1558: technical study in the 1990s, including radiocarbon dating of the canvas, cast doubt on his authorship, and the museum describes the composition, not the execution, as certainly his, though newer technical research has reopened the question. It was found to be a panel later transferred to canvas, and has been damaged by relining. Bought by the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in 1912, it inspired W. H. Auden's 1938 poem Musée des Beaux-Arts.

This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A ploughman above a sea-green bay with a tall ship and a low golden sun, Icarus a tiny splash, for a study, living room or hallway at 36×24 in natural wood. A sage, stone or pale gold wall; it pairs with Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Northern Renaissance painting
Era: 16th century (c. 1560)
Orientation: Landscape
Mood: grand
Rooms: living room, hallway or entryway, study or library, dining room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 36×24. Prints at 18×12, 24×16, 36×24 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard; 36×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.

Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original plate — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 18×12, 24×16, 36×24 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

Very slightly cropped. This full-bleed edition prints the painting edge to edge, so a thin sliver, a few percent at most, is trimmed from two opposite edges to fit the print size. We only offer it on paintings whose proportions already come that close to the sheet. For the whole painting, uncropped, choose the gallery edition.

Is Landscape with the Fall of Icarus in the public domain?

Yes. Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 18×12, 24×16 and 36×24 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Landscape with the Fall of Icarus painted, and in what medium?

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus dates from c. 1560 and was made in oil on canvas (transferred from panel); the original measures 73.5 × 111 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 36×24 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 24×16 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Landscape with the Fall of Icarus we'd choose 36×24. It is a landscape print, wider than it is tall, at the painting's own proportions.

About this design

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (Pieter Bruegel the Elder) — the painting printed edge to edge, very slightly cropped to fit the sheet. Landscape with the Fall of Icarus · Pieter Bruegel the Elder · c. 1560. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

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The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

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