Herbert James Draper

Herbert James Draper was an English painter of the late Victorian and Edwardian era known for dramatic scenes from Greek mythology. Born in London in 1863, he trained at the Royal Academy and became known for polished, theatrical paintings of gods, sea nymphs, and tragic heroes. His best known work, The Lament for Icarus, shows the fallen boy with scorched wings mourned by sea maidens.

He was a fine painter of the human figure and of shimmering water and light, working in the classical tradition even as modern art was rising around him. He also worked as a decorative and portrait painter. Draper's sumptuous mythological scenes capture the last glow of Victorian classical painting.