The Fall of Icarus

November 29, 1834

Not on view

Lord Chancellor Brougham is here cast as Icarus falling through the air after flying too close to the sun (the sun in this image contains the face of William IV). His collapsing wings are lettered "Edinburgh Review," "Society of useful knowledge," "Penny Encyclopædia," "Morning Chronicle," and "Globe," all journals to which the Chancellor contributed articles to praised the king (and by extension himself). The image suggests that recent speeches given during a provicinal tour implied too great a degree of familiarity with the monarch, whose hot response is here to melt the wax of his minister's great seal, causing him to fall from office.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: The Fall of Icarus
Series/Portfolio: HB Sketches, No. 354
Artist: John Doyle (Irish, Dublin 1797–1868 London)
Publisher: Thomas McLean (British, 1788–1875)
Lithographer: Ducôte and Stephen (British, active 1830–40)
Subject: Henry Peter Brougham (British, Edinburgh 1778–1868 Cannes, France)
Subject: William IV, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (British, 1765–1837)
Date: November 29, 1834
Medium: Lithograph
Dimensions: Sheet: 17 3/16 × 11 11/16 in. (43.7 × 29.7 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 2014
Object Number: 2014.757.5(15)
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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The State Cerberus, A Leaf Out of the Ænead, Freely Translated, John Doyle Irish, Lithograph — The State Cerberus, A Leaf Out of the Ænead, Freely Translated
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