This is a preparatory sketch by Rubens for the pictorial decoration of the Tower of La Parada in Madrid commissioned by King Philip IV.
Daedalus, who is here depicted with his architect’s tools hanging from his belt, was in Greek mythology a skilful craftsman commissioned by Minos the king of Crete to create the labyrinth to contain the Minotaur, a creature which was half man and half bull. As a penalty for its defeat by Minos, Athens was for many years required to pay a tax in the form of delivering numerous young men to be devoured by the monster, until one, the hero Theseus, managed to kill it.
6 comments:
Rubens' beautiful "sketch" looks as though Dedalus were BEFRIENDING the fearsome creature –– almost as though he were prearing to make LOVE to it.
CURIOUS!
Do you suppose the world will ever find a Dedalus cpable of slaying The MARXITAUR?
Hope springs eternal!
Dedalaus didn't slay the Minotaur. He trapped it in the Labyrinth. Then Marx built a NEW labyrinth.
Theseus slew the Minotaur and was a hero of Athens for ending the requirement for sending youthful "tributes" to King Minos. He also guided Oedipus to his final resting place in the sacred olive grove of the Euminides (Furies) @ Colonus
He's also wearing a pileus/liberty cap... a remnant of the egg shell which hatched the Dioscuri, patron of travellers.
You can find a similar cap atop the U.S. Capitol.
;p
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