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| The Fall of Phaeton | |
|---|---|
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| Artist | Peter Paul Rubens |
| Year | c. 1604/1605 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 98.4 cm × 131.2 cm (38.7 in × 51.7 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Art,Washington, D.C. |
The Fall of Phaeton is a painting by the Flemish masterPeter Paul Rubens, featuring the ancient Greek myth ofPhaeton (Phaethon), a recurring theme in visual arts. Rubens chose to depict the myth at the height of its action, with the thunderbolts hurled byZeus to the right. The thunderbolts provide thelight contrast to facilitate the display of horror on the faces of Phaeton, the horses and other figures while preserving the darkness of the event. The butterfly winged female figures represent the hours and seasons, who react in terror as the night and day cycle becomes disrupted. The greatastrological circle that arches the heavens is also disrupted. The assemblage of bodies form a diagonal oval in the center, separating dark and light sides of the canvas. The bodies are arranged so as to assist the viewer's travel continually around that oval.
Rubens paintedThe Fall of Phaeton inRome and the painting was probably reworked later around 1606–1608.[1] It has been housed in theNational Gallery of Art since 5 January 1990. Rubens also painted other Greek mythological subjects, such asThe Fall of Icarus,Perseus Freeing Andromeda, andThe Judgement of Paris.
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