Roy G. Krenkel: Cities & Scenes From The Ancient World
(1974 - Owlswick Press)

It is reported that the "primary" drawings here were created to be used in Fantasy & Science-Fiction author L. Sprague de Camp's shaggy-dog history-&-travelogue of the centers of Mediterranean & West Asiatic civilizations, Great Cities Of The Ancient World. It's suggested that not all of the wealth of created work made it into the tome and Krenkel secured permission to make use of it as the backbone of this display of his artistry. Here, the sections are designated as Knossos, Atlantis, Egypt, Babylon, Nineveh, The Phoenician Cities, The Hellenic World, Baghdad, and Pataliputa, with final offshoots into The Great Continent, Mexico, and ultimately Krenkel's own imagination, Fantasie. So, you won't get the drama-filled illustration that you are perhaps craving, but rather a ground-level view of life in these olden times, seen through this artist's sketchy lens. To be clear, the featured works are finished drawings (in this very loose style), but into the mix is added a very healthy amount of Krenkel's other actual historical & fantasy sketches - extremely free & spontaneous. The book is 82 pages (plus several outer leaves - each decorated with different art). 31 of the book's pages allow a featured work to dominate, while another 43 of them carry multiple images vying for your attention. The text pages sport one of the better short biographies of the artist and then his own words separately describe his passion for the 'theme' and the mechanics of his compositional choices. Both later Krenkel monographs, RGK and FATHER OF HEROIC FANTASY, score as being presentationally better than this volume, and a handful of the featured works here got spotlighted in them as well, but this book will be desired too, just because there's so much more in this vein on display here.

Roy G. Krenkel: Swordsmen And Saurians

Roy G. Krenkel - Portfolio # 1 [BELOW THE LINE]

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