Barlowe's Inferno

Product Information

This is by far one of the craziest and absolutely most hideously beautiful books I have ever seen/read. So heavy that they need supernatural augmentation to move, they are lumbering, building-crushing tanks capable of chewing their way through soul-bricks and natural stone alike. Situated on the edge of a great lake of lava on the outskirts of Dis, the Wargate’s only rival in sheer scale is Beelzebub’s Keep itself. Not since John Milton’s Paradise Lost have we seen such a vivid and well-informed account of infernal doings. Limited to just 150 copies individually signed and numbered by the artist himself, Barlowe's Inferno collects these amazing depictions of hell inside of a splendid cloth slipcase and includes a signed print, suitable for framing.

The inspiration for this painting is fairly obvious: all of those great Flemish paintings of medical examinations, of doctors gathered around splayed-out corpses. After spending months completing very complex, detailed paintings I tend to gravitate towards simpler, more iconic compositions.

Nonetheless, demons like Sargatanas are capable of sprouting great fan-like wings that bear some resemblance to their former seraphic or cherubic wings for just such journeys. Unless they are escorted by significant numbers of armed demons they are frequently lost without a trace. To me it is not only a natural evolution for a painter to become freer and more expressive, but, in this case, the milieu does afford one the perfect opportunity to be a bit more evocative. Beelzebub’s Keep – (unpublished – acrylic on Gessoboard) – There is no single construct in Hell that typifies the monolithic evil of its rulers more than this enormous edifice. At its center rears Prince Beelzebub’s Dome, the largest domed structure in Hell, beneath which is its feared Rotunda, the Prince’s audience chamber.

Hailed for his vivid depictions of life in hell's inferno, Wayne Barlowe fills his paintings with sprawling landscapes and bizarre inhabitants. The visual idiom that I created in this piece, from the colors to the archi-organic forms to the look of the demons, has found its way into nearly every subsequent Hell painting I’ve done.Here potent glyphs stream away from the wings’ trailing edges, glyphs that not only keep the demon aloft but also delineate territories and can carry commands to nearby airborne troops. While most buildings in Dis are composed entirely of soul-bricks, the Wargate was erected around a natural volcanic plug, its outer surfaces smoothed by slave labor that took eons and countless souls to complete. What Remains – (unpublished – acrylic on Gessoboard) – As much as Hell is a place of unrelenting horror and savagery it is, too, a place of sadness. This understanding doesn’t inhibit the native creatures one bit if the opportunity arises to waylay a group of demons that might have lost their way in the wild Wastes.

As I had just recently finished GOD’S DEMON and there was a scene involving Demolishers, this painting provided me a rare and serendipitous opportunity to envision a kinetic battle scene in Hell. Equipped with two massive bone-hammers and a heavy chin-blade these greatly enlarged souls are the once-cruel rulers of Asian empires transformed by the Demon Major Yen Wang to suit his needs.It represents another small step towards understanding that brilliant program but is, by no means, more than an exercise. Lee attended an art college for one year, but felt she would be better writing her ideas than painting them. Hell’s First Born – (from Barlowe’s Inferno, acrylic on panel) – A giant Abyssal stands upon a scalding field outside the walls of Adamantinarx. I see them as fierce fighters, tribal and semi-nomadic, hunting Abyssals and waging a constant battle against not only the extreme elements of the Wastes but, also, the demons and souls.