The fall of Phaethon

An engraving depicting the fall of Phaeton: in the cloudy sky at upper left, the runaway sun chariot drawn by rearing horses careens out of control, with Phaeton tumbling headlong toward the earth as Jupiter hurls a thunderbolt from above. Below stretches an expansive river landscape with mountains and a hilltop town, while in the foreground herdsmen tend cattle and grazing sheep, one seated figure playing a wind instrument. Engraved inscriptions appear in the lower margins.