Fantasy art is explored from 1400 to the modern day by author Dian Hanson in this monster-sized tome published by Taschen, featuring masters of the genre, including Boris Vallejo, Greg Hildebrandt, Michael Whelan, Frank Frazetta and of course Rodney Matthews! Indeed, Matthews fans will savour 28 pages dedicated to his lifetime career, with beautifully reproduced images and an inspiring biography that hails him as 'The Rock Star' of fantasy art.
- Hardcover, clothbound with jacket, 29 x 39.5 cm, 7.43 kg, 532 pages
- ISBN 978-3-8365-7210-1
- Multilingual Edition: English, French, German
- Free Shipping
More from Taschen:
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, and 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, and 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.
