Chris Foss, a hugely influential 20th century science fiction illustrator who specialized in creating vast, vibrantly colored space ships, was once commissioned by Games Workshop to create a visualisation of a massive cathedral battleship from the Warhammer 40k universe. Two detailed development paintings for the piece have recently come to light via a public auction, and their date of creation sheds new light on the unused final piece’s significance.
The distinctive design of Warhammer 40k spaceships, and particularly the blocky gothic cathedrals with cow-catcher ram prows used by the Imperial Navy, was really locked in place by the art and models released in 1999 for the the spin-off miniature wargame Battlefleet Gothic.
According to the listing for Foss’ work at Heritage Auctions, Foss created two development pieces for the cathedral battleship in 1997. This would make them part of the early development process for Battlefleet Gothic, when the design of the models was still being iterated on.
A letter from Foss is included in the auction, explaining that Mark van Wingerden (the current or previous seller) has acquired a “framed spaceship visualisation” that was created as a “color rough for the final version” of a large painting, as well as a “color copy of a later development”. “This was a major commission by Games Workshop for a large and very detailed painting which necessitated much consultation”, it adds.
The finalised version of Foss’ cathedral battleship art was previously published in the collection ‘Hardware: The Definitive SF Works of Chris Foss’, with a copyright date of 2000. To the best of our knowledge it was never used by Games Workshop. Compositionally it is very similar to John Blanche’s cover art for the original Battlefleet Gothic boxed game, suggesting that Foss’ piece may have been considered, or even originally intended, for the cover.
Foss is a British science fiction artist and illustrator who created cover art for many famous sci-fi novels including Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy and E.E. Smith’s Lensman series. Surprisingly, his most culturally important work may have been his black and white illustrations for the first edition of ‘The Joy of Sex’, a work that was so controversial at the time that his publisher agreed to pay his legal fees in the event he was sued for obscenity.
Foss is particularly adept at creating utterly enormous space vehicles and structures, though his creations are typically far sleeker and more curvaceous than gnarled gothic grandeur we now associate with vessels of the Imperium of Man. Of all the Warhammer 40k factions, the wraithbone space craft of the Aeldari would have been a better fit for Foss’ style. Even so, we can’t help but wish we’d gotten to see his take on the Space Marines…
If you’re a fan of sci-fi art, we have a very strong recommendation – check out our interview with former GW staff illustrator Thomas Elliott to learn about his original grimdark scifi world Eskaton.
Source: Wargamer
