Barry Windsor-Smith - Icarus (Early pencil version)

I feel I may just get emotional about it... But how can it be otherwise? This is as grandiose a piece as it can get, not mentioning its massive size (30"x26") or the long patient months to complete the deal or the hectic weeks to see it finally arrive safe at home.

But, here it is, a first penciled version of Icarus, one of the most famous illustrations by Barry Windsor-Smith... And big thanks are in order to Mel Higgins for the ultra-smooth deal!

It will take me long to grasp the entire wonderment of this work, but, this is what I get from the first looks at it.

Obviously attracted to the left side first, as it more fully achieved than the right one (Note : this is the side you see on the picture). The interconnection between Icarus and the foliage is stupendous. The way the half-immersed figure is rendered in pencil only is also incredible.

The face of Icarus is certainly the best BWS face I’ve ever seen. It is classical to the extreme. Shades of Michelangelo, I think.

Having said that, even if it is only broadly sketched, the right side (eee additional picture) is also very interesting: the birds investigating the corpse and even the hills in the distance give the idea that the first intention of BWS was to build a far more open landscape instead of the dense forest of the finished piece where even the water is encumbered by reflections of the trees.

Now, I have not yet found any additional information on how Icarus evolved in the mind of the artist, but an observation from my keen-eyed wife struck me. When I (proudly!) showed her the piece, she told me, judging from the posture and the expression on his face, that he looked more like sleeping than having plunged from the skies to his death.

I think she is correct, even though the artist may have originally wanted to play on this ambiguity, which makes me think of Arthur Rimbaud’s poem « the sleeper in the valley », where a young man, supposedly peacefully asleep on the grass, is actually a dead soldier (« there are two red holes in his right side »).

So, as of now, I think this is the very first attempt BWS did on this piece. When compared to the other known example (You can find it on CAF, but I also added a picture here), there are elements unique to this one: the birds, the hills and, especially, the half-opened eyes that clearly reinforce the impression of dozing.

Apparently, when he decided to give up on this one and go for a second take, BWS went for a simplified version with a landscape more closely focused. The eyes are now almost closed and darkened.

Then he must have realized the pose of Icarus was too « quiet », so he worked on a black ink and white paint isolated figure with a more grotesque pose (also added here), definitely more in line with the idea of the fall.

The final touch came when, for the finished piece (additional picture enclosed), he decided to switch from a landscape to a portrait disposition that reinforce the notion of the fall. The cluttering sultry trees and the absolutely still water are the exact opposite of the wide open skies Icarus loved so well…

Obviously, this is guesswork on my part, so, if you know more or have other ideas, feel free to contribute! As for me, I'm going back to this splendid, almost hypnotic composition, a spellbinding pencil work by BWS on top of his art. I even think I'm prefering this one over the familiar painted version. But, I'm biased, obviously...