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The Fall of Phaeton (Rubens)
Credit: Peter Paul RubensThe Fall of Phaeton painted by Rubens in 1604. The myth of Phaethon, whose attempt to drive the sun god's chariot led to his death, was the basis of Lully's 1683 opera Phaëton. Lully's opera was an indirect reference to the fate of Nicolas Fouquet whose ambitions to imitate the King Louis XIV (The Sun King) brought about his downfall.