Fantasy art
, that colorful blend of myth, muscle and sexy maidens, took off in 1923 with the launch of
Weird Tales
magazine, was reinvigorated in the 1960s with
The Lord of the Rings
,
Conan the Barbarian
paperbacks with
Frank Frazetta
covers, and the late ’60s emergence of fantasy psychedelia. It went big in the ’70s with the role-playing game
Dungeons & Dragons
, the brilliant French magazine
Métal Hurlant
, and the first
Star Wars
film. The number of active artists peaked in that decade, but a new generation of fans discovered the genre through fantasy trading card games in the ’90s, leading to a massive interest in the art form today. Frank Frazetta’s oil paintings—when they infrequently come to market—have sold for more than $ 5 million in recent years. Fans line up at Comic-Cons to meet
Boris Vallejo
Rodney Matthews
Greg Hildebrandt
Michael Whelan
, and
Philippe Druillet
, and memorialize dead icons
HR Giger
Jeffrey Catherine Jones
Frazetta
. Imagine how eagerly they’ll welcome TASCHEN’s
History of Fantasy Art
, including all the artists listed above and more.
This monster-sized tome features
original paintings
, contextualized by
preparatory sketches
sculptures
calendars
magazines
paperback books
for an immersive dive into this dynamic, fanciful genre. Insightful bios go beyond Wikipedia to give a more accurate and eye-opening look into the life of each artist. Complete with
tipped-in chapter openers
, this collection will reign as the
most exquisite and informative guide to this popular subject for years to come.