Lord of the Titans

1996. Acrylic on canvas panel. 24"x36".

Publication History

The planet Saturn looms large in the sky of its icy moon, Dione. Nine of Saturn's large family of moons are depicted in this portrait of the giant planet. Saturn's magnificent ring system appears as a thin line in this view since Dione orbits in the plane of the rings. A careful search along the ring line will reveal several other moons, all hugging the ring plane like Dione.

While Saturn is named for the Roman god of agriculture, many of its moons bear the names of Titans from the mythology of the ancient Greeks.

This painting is a tribute to Chesley Bonestell (1888 - 1986), widely considered the master of astronomical art. The natural beauty of the planet Saturn made it a favorite subject which Bonestell returned to often in his long career. Dione's rugged mountains and Saturn's dramatic clouds are exaggerations of reality, echoing Bonestell's stunning spacescapes, those beautiful visions of other worlds that inspired a generation of space artists.

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