The disappearance of an invisible man Of all Greek mythology, Icarus' fateful journey is one of the best known. His story begins with the imprisonment of him and his father Daedalus. King Minos of Crete imprisoned the two in his island's seemingly inescapable labyrinth. Although there was no escape through the labyrinth, Daedalus created wax wings so that he and his son could fly out of the labyrinth. Before their departure, Daedalus warned Icarus that if he flew too close to the sea or too close to the Sun, his wings would be destroyed and he would fall to his death. However, once they escaped the labyrinth, Icarus soon fell in love with the exhilaration of flight and forgot his father's instructions. Icarus flew too high in the sky and the Sun melted the wax in his wings. Icarus fell from the sky and into the ocean where he drowned. Painted in the late 16th century, Pieter Breugal's “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” depicts the death of Icarus in the ocean. However, the physical presence of Icarus in the painting is almost non-existent. Breugal uses several artistic tactics to subordinate the ending of Icarus. This manipulation of perception leads the viewer of the painting to question Icarus' importance to the work as a whole. With the viewer's lack of awareness and the painting's lack of respect for Icarus' existence, Breugal states that others' perceptions of an individual determine their value. Despite the greatness of the tragic hero Icarus in Western culture, his importance comes from the fact that others realize it. Our understanding of our world contains “more than mere objective fact, it includes consciousness.” (Berger 11) Regarding the title of this piece, questions are raised about the intention of... half of the sheet... ...de its appearance and preserved... [the] painter's way of seeing [ and] reconstituted… the marks he [made] on canvas or paper." (Berger 9-10) The fact that this concept is still recognizable to a modern audience illustrates the magnitude of the meaning of this work. The justification of self-esteem is often a product of the consciousness of others. In the face of mortality, it is not uncommon to want to be noticed by other people when we are no longer there. Many people want to extend the presence of being known beyond the physical presence. both in a certain place and in life in general. Being able to matter to someone on a deep level reinforces the pride a person has in their personal worth. Although Icarus did not have the luxury of being noticed by society, Breugal uses this character as a warning about how even great people can slip into the abyss of death..