Pieter Breugel the Elder, Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, c. 1558, oil on canvas

Focal point is a principle that an artist uses to initially draw our attention to one singular point in a work. Breugel masterfully subverts our attention away from the plight of Icarus by drawing our attention elsewhere in the work. The story of Icarus and Daedalus is from Greek mythology and recounts a daring escape from prison through the creation of wings. Unfortunately, the young Icarus flew too close to the sun and melted his wings and fell to his death in the sea.