Frank Frazetta Thor's Flight (1968)

Frank Frazetta is recognized as one of the greatest fantasy artists of the last 100 years, and looking at this piece it's easy to see why. His work has become the standard against which all fantasy art is judged. From an incredibly fertile period of Frazetta's career, this piece was originally published as the cover to the Paperback Library edition of Thongor in the City of Magicians by Lin Carter. Later it was used as the cover for Night Music, and then again as the cover for Testament: The Life and Art of Frank Frazetta. In this image, Frazetta depicts Thor, the legendary Norse God, riding a winged beast over a lake of fire. Frazetta was always fearless when it came to the use of vivid colors. His primary focus was creativity, imagination and the ability to make what he drew riveting. In Thor's Flight, he wanted to use a high vantage point that showcased the size and intensity of the Planet's surface to heighten the sense of danger and drama. While already larger than his typical oil pieces, his inspired design, palette, color blending, and composition integrate to complement the effect and create a fantasy world full of life.