Charles Paul Landon was born in 1760 and lived until 1826. While he made several paintings, he is known more for his writings. The painting “Daedalus and Icarus” by Charles Paul Landon initially appears like it fits Ovid’s version of the story, but under closer analysis such an impression falls apart. Most important is the fact that this scene does not actually occur in Ovid’s text. Instead, Ovid seems to imply that Daedalus flew first, not that he pushed Daedalus. By having Daedalus be the one who launches Icarus into the air, more responsibility is ascribed to Daedalus for Icarus’ death. If Icarus takes flight under his own power, he has more responsibility for his own fate and death.
The next major difference comes from the wings. Ovid writes about how they were made of wax and feathers, giving more of an impression of facsimiles of wings. Landon appears to have instead given Daedalus and Icarus actual wings. In fact, the only acknowledgement that the wings are fake is the small, unobtrusive cloth ribbon wrapping around their arms and chests. The most immediate impact of this change is that they both, though especially Icarus with his white wings, now appear rather angelic. If the idea that Landon is painting Daedalus as more responsible for the death of Icarus is taken as true, then the brown color of Daedalus’ wings could be seen as another way to imply how he is guilty. Another way in which the choice for realistic wings impacts the text is in regards to Daedalus’ skill as an inventor and craftsman. The ability to craft such lifelike wings raises Daedalus’ status as an inventor even higher, and with the wings being so angelic, perhaps even beyond that of mortal skill. However, this could also be taken as a mark against his personal skill. The ability to make such wings is so far beyond normal ability that it can appear as more of a diving gift rather than human skill, removing personal ability from the equation.
However, there is another entirely different way to take the realistic wings. As Landon was born after the scientific revolution, he would likely have known how unrealistic the idea of actually flying with handcrafted wings would be. Thus the realistic wings could be an acknowledgement of this impossibility, no longer implying that it was actually possible by making it even more impossible looking.