Fall of Icarus. Sgraffito in unrestored condition on burgher or town house, built in the second half of the 1500s, on Horni náměstí (Upper Square) in Slavonice, South Bohemia, Czechia. The house displaying this sgraffito design is Horni náměstí 520. In this image, falling Icarus or Ikaros is on the left and his flying father, Daedalus, upper right.
Slavonice, South Bohemia, Czechia: sgraffito design on Renaissance facade of a burgher or town house on Horni náměstí (Upper Square) in the historic centre of the town. The house displaying this sgraffito design is Horni náměstí 520. The facade is decorated mainly with figurative and ornamental sgraffito placed in decorative frames. The plaster gained its dark colour from the addition of crushed charcoal, small pieces of which are visible on close inspection. Icarus was the son of inventor Daedalus. King Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus. Daedalus devised a way to escape. He made wings of wax and feathers for himself and his son. Icarus, however, flew too close to the sun, the wax on his wings melted and he fell into the sea and drowned. Slavonice was founded in the 1100s CE and expanded in the 1300s. It owes its current appearance to building in the 1500s when houses lining what is now Horni náměstí were rebuilt. One of the most important builders was Leopold Esteraich, whose stonemason mark bearing the initials ‘LE’ can be found on many buildings in the town. The above information on sgraffito decoration of houses in Slavonice draws on research by Michaela Musilová, compiled for a History of Art Bachelor Thesis at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice in 2014.
Size: 4176px × 2773px
Location: Slavonice, South Bohemia, Czechia
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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