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The mural was commissioned by UNESCO in 1957, with the purpose of decorating the Paris headquarters. Picasso was one of eleven artists who were chosen to undertake this task. Picasso began working on the commission in December 1957 and based his composition on his Bathers series from 1956. A scale model was completed on 29 January 1958, before the mural was finally presented two months later to Luther Evans, Director General of UNESCO and Georges Salles, the second President of the ICOM and Vice President of the Committee of art advisors. Originally the mural was titled The Forces of Life and Spirit Triumphing over Evil, but it was renamed by Georges Salles in 1958, who gave it the title The Fall of Icarus.The mural was first publicly displayed in the hallway of UNESCO's Bâtiment des Conférences on 3 November 1958 when the building was inaugurated.
Paris The Fall of Icarus Icarus UNESCO