[Originally posted in November of 2017 – time flies, doesn’t it? – this post has been updated to include a separate image of Rene Vidmer’s cover art.]
Vidmer’s art has no direct tie to any of the stories actually in the magazine. Instead, it simply generates a mood of curiosity; mystery; disquiet: “What’s going on here? How did this happen? Where is this?”
The colors are nicely balanced between the red gown and pale flesh tones of a sculpture of a woman (is it a sculpture?), and the brown to olive hues of a desert landscape, against a greenish yellow to pale grayish blue sky. (The red flowers are a nice touch.) Most striking, though, is the feeling of time; of age; of antiquity, imparted by the composition: The sculpture (?) is both shattered and intact, while the surrounding landscape is an arid wasteland.
A separate view…
A black & white interior illustration by Rene Vidmer can be seen in the August, 1953 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.
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Nice cover. Obviously shows a strong influence of Magritte and Dali.