Hendrick Goltzius and after a design by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem from the series “The Four Disgracers” (1588).
- Tantalus: Plate 1;
- Icarus: Plate 2;
- Phaeton: Plate 3;
- Ixion: Plate 4.
The theme of the series is Hubris: each of these characters from Greek mythology has been “disgraced” or punished for aspiring to be like the gods. The free-falling figures of Tantalus, Icarus, Phaeton, and Ixion demonstrate variations on a pose shown from four different points of view. Two fall in light, two tumble through darkness. Goltzius employed a complex system of tapering and swelling lines to delineate their brawny bodies, producing sculptural effects that are amplified through dramatic contrasts of light and dark; their figures appear to plummet into our own space.