Red Sonja #6; Star of Doom 1983

Curator: Welcome. Today, we're looking at Boris Vallejo's painting "Red Sonja #6; Star of Doom" from 1983. It's a fantasy illustration, rendered in acrylics. Editor: My initial impression? This is visually arresting. The stark contrast of Red Sonja's fiery hair against the nebulous, ethereal backdrop really draws the eye. It's all about color relations. Curator: Indeed. Vallejo was a major figure in the fantasy art boom of the 70s and 80s. These illustrations, often featured on book covers, were designed to instantly capture a viewer's attention and evoke a specific feeling, often of adventure, danger, and sexuality, for a predominantly male audience. Editor: Absolutely. The pose and almost minimalist attire certainly telegraphs that element. Formally, notice how Vallejo uses lighting to guide us through the composition, from Red Sonja's back, up the sword to her target, and then rising higher through the colors in the environment around the sorcerer, eventually towards the cosmos. It's very effective in terms of visual movement. Curator: This piece really demonstrates how fantasy art tapped into certain desires and anxieties of the period. There’s a clear depiction of female empowerment, but also her presentation leans heavily into objectification. The settings and character designs clearly drew from pulp fantasy tropes. Editor: Yes, and there's something wonderfully unreal about the landscape too. The composition positions Red Sonja, sword at the ready, against an almost dreamlike portal in which we have swirling nebula effects contrasted by a craggy rock feature to the left, then also against the crouched sorcerer himself. A complex contrast between hard edges and painterly illusion. Curator: Vallejo's works also tell us something about shifts in the art world at this time. Commercial art increasingly influenced, and in some cases overshadowed, the established fine art scene, even if those distinctions remain firmly in place. His art, meant for mass consumption, found an incredibly wide audience. Editor: What I appreciate most is Vallejo's rendering technique; an intricate understanding of color and shading makes the body almost sculptural, while, simultaneously, the brushwork is so dynamic; loose, yet carefully controlled. I think those dualities help create the world we see so skillfully displayed. Curator: It's true. His legacy is one of immense impact on the visual vocabulary of fantasy. "Red Sonja #6" captures much about the culture, context and audience this movement. Editor: A stimulating marriage between visual aesthetics and genre. Something to behold, whatever the approach.