Study for "Icarus", No. 3 1964

Jimmy Ernst made this watercolor study for "Icarus", No. 3, sometime in the mid-20th century. We see an image of sharp, dark spikes floating on a vibrant blue and green background. The story of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and fell to his death, has resonated with artists for centuries. But what might this ancient myth have meant to Ernst, who fled Nazi Germany in 1938? Like Icarus, Ernst sought freedom through flight. Yet his story has a different ending. He successfully made it to the United States, where he became part of a community of European émigré artists. This painting then becomes not just a reference to a classical myth, but a personal reflection on the push and pull between aspiration and danger, hope and despair, exile and belonging. To understand this work fully, scholars might consult Ernst's biography, study the history of European artists in exile, and explore the shifting meanings of classical myths in the modern era.