Armed Three-master with Daedalus and Icarus in the Sky from The Sailing Vessels

Description

Armed Three-Master with Daedalus and Icarus in the Sky combines an imposing sailing ship with a small episode from classical myth. Billowing sails rise above the dark hull, while rough water moves below and a coastal fort appears at the left. The tiny flying figures occupy the upper right. Their presence contrasts the ship’s constructed strength with a more precarious freedom in the open sky.

Frans Huys engraved the print after Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s design for The Sailing Vessels, a series issued in 1561–65 by Hieronymus Cock. Its interest is not confined to the ship’s function: the intricate arrangement of sails and rigging creates a visual rhythm of its own. Myth and maritime observation occupy the same field, making an impressive vessel part of a broader image of movement, ambition and the open world.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Pieter Bruegel collection.