Hope is the main theme of the 2022 edition.
Lucca Comics & Games sees hope in all the great fantasy stories, starting from Star Wars. No wonder the fourth chapter - the first movie belonging to this saga - is called “A new hope”. As Obi-Wan Kenobi says, “Hope - now that’s a word I’ve not heard in a long time”. To him, hope is not the simple desire for a positive outcome, it is rather the unshakable faith in its coming true. HOPE is not doubt, but a certainty. Always hope, there is - as Yoda would say.
Nothing represents this theme better than the fantastic imagery: it is with hope that we want to conquer the present. Fantasy is the reality of a better future on the side of those who really dream and live. Those who live to build alternatives, brighter scenarios, new paths…
This is why we are proud to have TedNasmith, the absolute master of imaginative realism and one of the greatest minds who created the visual universe of Middle-Earth over the past four decades, as the author of our poster.
Hope, Lady of the Dawn, is portrayed as a divinity in the stunning artwork created on the occasion of Lucca Comics & Games 2022.
Hope is inspired by Yavanna, a divinity from Tolkien’s universe, and represents the healer of nature. The tree on which she stands is an ancient olive tree, as her colours recall the Italian flag; the ribbons fluttering in the wind symbolise freedom, creativity and diversity.
The poster could not be complete without any references to the city of Lucca, its majestic walls and the Cathedral of San Martino. This is how Lucca entrusts Nasmith with its sacred tree and instantly becomes Valinor, an enchanted realm, an earthly paradise… to redefine the present.
Ted Nasmith
Author of the Poste
Ted Nasmith is one of the most skilled contemporary illustrators, and it’s impossible to talk about fantasy art without mentioning him. It is him, in fact, who has materialised the imagination of all Tolkien fans. He creates enchanted landscapes with the same precision as a neoclassical painter, he reproduces unique worlds and settings that earned him the admiration and encouragement from Tolkien himself.
Nasmith sees in the English writer’s epic the inspiration for his own future as an artist. He states: “…Tolkien and C.S. Lewis once came to decide that they needed to write the kind of books they wanted to read; I decided someone (me) must paint the kind of Tolkien illustrations I wanted to see!”
He’s passionate about history and ancient religions and gifted with a very personal eclectic style, inspired by both the atmosphere of the Pre-Raphaelite painters and American luminism of the mid-19th century. Thanks to his passion for neoclassical architecture, he became the exponent of a sort of magical realism, recreating atmospheres and landscapes which are filled with aesthetic and geographical details, but still preserve an enchanted aura thanks to a skillful use of light and the rendering of the four natural elements.
Since 1987 his works have appeared in the famous calendars dedicated to Tolkien (the following editions will be 1990, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009) and in 1997 the first edition of “The Silmarillion”, illustrated by him, was published. It is a posthumous work edited by Christopher Tolkien which represents the origin of his father’s narrative corpus. The Italian edition of “The Silmarillion” with Ted Nasmith’s illustrations was published by Bompiani in 2004.
Nasmith is considered one of the greatest Tolkien experts and he’s also a member of several Tolkienian societies such as The Tolkien Society and the Mythopoeic Society.
Not everyone knows that Nasmith is also a musician, tenor and guitarist: “The Hidden Door: Songs in the Key of Enchantment” is his first album inspired by the atmosphere of “The Lord of the Rings”.