The Fall of Phaeton
C. 1604-1605
Rubens captures the ultimate cosmic car crash in this explosive Baroque masterpiece. The young Phaeton, having begged to drive his father Apollo's sun chariot for a day, completely lost control of the fiery horses, threatening to scorch the Earth. To save the world, Zeus zapped him out of the sky with a thunderbolt, resulting in this chaotic tumble of rearing white horses, terrified nymphs, and plummeting figures. Painted early in his career around 1604, Rubens was likely inspired by Michelangelo's earlier drawings of the same myth, but he cranked the drama and motion up to eleven.
Location: National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
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