(Ludovico De Luigi’s “Thomas Mann,” 2007)
When you think of Italian SF art, the name that immediately springs to mind is the brilliant Dutch painter Karel Thole (1914-2000), who seemed to illustrate half of the Italian SF publications in the 60s/70s…. However, a whole series of fascinating artists were brought in for short spats of covers. Today’s focus is Ludovico De Luigi (1933-). Between 1971 and 1972, he created nine fascinating covers for the Italian SF press Casa Editrice La Tribuna. The majority include references to De Luigi’s favorite urban landscape–Venice–with a surreal touch. As an unabashed fan of the Italian style of vedutism (large-scale and highly detailed paintings of cities), both De Luigi’s recent paintings (the first and last image in this series) and his 70s covers appeal to my sensibilities. If you’re interested in his more recent paintings–including some for sale–check out his webpage.
My favorite of De Luigi’s covers graces Galassia #150 (1971) (an original collection of untranslated Italian SF by Piero Prosperi)–one of the few that doesn’t seem to reference Venice directly (although the style of the building hearkens back to a Renaissance palace along the Grand Canal). I love the deep earthy hues, the building seeping into murky masses along the edges…. Evocative!
Let me know your favorites!
Other Installments of my Italian SF Covers Art Series
- The Galassia Covers of Allison aka Mariella Anderlini
- Haunting Landscapes and Cityscapes: The 1970s Italian SF Art of Allison aka Mariella Anderlini
- The Reddish Figures and Constructing Cities of Alberto Cavallari
(Ludovico Di Luigi’s cover for Galassia #173 (1972), the Italian edition of Psi High and Others (1967), Alan E. Nourse))
(Ludovico De Luigi’s cover for Galassia #150 (1971), a collection of original Italian SF by Piero Prosperi)
(Ludovico De Luigi’s cover for Galassia #169 (1972), reprinted by Bigalassia, containing Dean R. Koontz’s The Dark Symphony (1970) and Mauro Antonio Miglieruolo’s Come ladro di notte)
(Ludovico De Luigi’s cover for Galassia #155 (1971), an anthology of original Italian SF by Gianni Montanari, Livio Horrakh, and Franco Tamagni)
(Ludovico Di Luigi’s cover for the Italian edition of No Future in It (1962), John Brunner)
(Ludovico Di Luigi’s cover for Galassia #174 (1972), containing the Italian SF novella Dove stiamo volando, Vittorio Curtoni)
(Ludovico Di Luigi’s cover for Galassia #171, the Italian edition The Ring of Ritornel (1968), Charles L. Harness)
(Ludovico De Luigi’s “After Midnight,” 2010)
For more cover art posts consult the INDEX