In reality a painter of hell, but megadungeons have that hell exploration feel to me (A Paladin in Hell illustration for example). Even his super-chthonic works all have a dreary sky and an almost underground feel. Just replace that image of clouds with the image of a cavern ceiling (figurative, or literally, as his stuff is in the public domain).
You can search around to find more, but his Wikipedia page is pretty good:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:François_de_Nomé
Examples:
Great artist! Thanks for sharing these wonderful paintings!
If I may suggest, you could open a thread where the fellows here are free to point out inspiring artworks and artists like this one! I have many to link!
Idea implemented! Got a bunch more artists, I’ll get to them soon!
Well, my first input goes to a ‘cursed’ artist: Salvator Rosa.
Hereby the link to wikimedia: Category:Salvator Rosa - Wikimedia Commons
My favorite paintings are:
this is very ON THE NOSE, but lets talk Caspar David Friedrich for a moment. the dude that invented the standard RPG book cover (and movie poster). bringing this up because, I was recently reminded that there are advantages to living in New York. art exhibits! he’s not my favorite artist by far, but I would jump to see an exhibition of his.
modern fantasy owes so much to Romanticism, I don’t really think modern adventure fantasy could exist without it… thematic and visual themes overlap almost 100%. the hero of fantasy, being a very similar hero to Romanticism.
so here is the obvious Romantic hero, that really, no one needs to see again. it is so ingrained in our culture. hello every RPG cover. hero facing away from the viewer, center of image.
but he has some really cool other pieces. this slightly less famous one… but it points to the romantic fascination with ruins, and liminal states (in this sense twilight, being the most supernatural time of day).
and sure, throw the hero right in the dead middle of the ruins!
how is this not an 80’s Elmore painting with a white dragon in the sky?
this one is cool too… more very central compositions, deeply un-lit.
like everything RPG, there is a Nazi angle that somehow creeps in.
also, this dude was clearly an edgelord from his avatar:
I love Friedrich as well! It is not a coincidence that I have already made a cover for a book I still need to publish!
Another fine artist which I find very inspirational for my rpgish vein is Viktor Vasnetsov:
Some pieces of his art are perfect for FRPGs:
coming right up on the cusp of what I would call pre contemporary, but… Alfred Kumin. Surrealist, Symbolist.
https://www.steelsnowflake.org/post/alfred-kubin-art
he wrote a book!
but mostly its all about his illustrations/artworks. they feel… deeply evil and disturbing.
Turns out Victor Hugo also made moody broody fantasy illustrations… all of which look like covers to TTRPG books. And public domain!
If you happen to live nearby: Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo | Royal Academy of Arts
