We all know the scenes of a devastating Martian invasion: gigantic alien tripods and fighting-machines destroying towns, killing helpless humans, abducting men, women, and children. But do you know the Brazilian painter who was responsible for bringing those images for the first time in the early 1900?
It was a painter and illustrator named Henrique Alvim Corrêa (1876-1910) who planted these images in our collective mind. Corrêa drew his illustrations for the 1906 Belgian edition of H. G. Wells’ sci-fi masterpiece, The War of the Worlds.
The ongoing Illustration Art Signature Auction at Heritage Auctions (ends on May 14) features 29 original pencil and ink artworks created for this book, the earliest apocalyptic depictions of a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. These pre-modernist drawings of our deepest fears made the artist world famous long after his very early death, showcasing his work in several exhibitions in museums and galleries.
Livre Premier: L’arrivée des Martiens
This illustration is featured as the title page of Book I: The Coming of the Martians, 1906.
Martians Head Toward Earth
This illustration is featured in Book I: The Coming of the Martians, Chapter I: “The Eve of the War,” 1906.
Martians Land
This illustration is featured in Book I: The Coming of the Martians, Chapter III: “On Horsell Common,” 1906.
Martian Emerges
This illustration is featured in Book I: The Coming of the Martians, Chapter IV: “The Cylinder Opens,” 1906.
Martians Blast House
This illustration is featured in Book I: The Coming of the Martians, Chapter VIII: “Friday Night,” 1906.
Martian in the Forest
This illustration is featured in Book I: The Coming of the Martians, Chapter IX: “The Fighting Begins,” 1906.
Martian Fighting Machine in the Thames Valley
This illustration is featured in Book I: The Coming of the Martians, Chapter XIV: “In London,” 1906.
Thunderchild Versus Martian
This illustration is featured in Book I: The Coming of the Martians, Chapter XVI: “The Exodus from London,” 1906.
Martian Gas Cannon
This illustration is featured in Book I: The Coming of the Martians, Chapter XV: “What Had Happened in Surrey,” 1906.
Martian Flying Machine
This illustration is featured in Book I: The Coming of the Martians, Chapter XVII: “The Thunder Child,” 1906.
Martian Handler
This illustration is featured in Book II: The Earth Under the Martians, Chapter II: “What We Saw from the Ruined House,” 1906.
Handler Grabbing Human
This illustration is featured in Book II: The Earth Under the Martians, Chapter V: “The Stillness,” 1906.
Martian Machine Over the Thames
This illustration is featured in Book II: The Earth Under the Martians, Chapter VII: “The Man on Putney Hill,” 1906.
Martian Viewing Drunken Crowd
This illustration is featured in Book II: The Earth Under the Martians, Chapter VII: “The Man on Putney Hill,” 1906.
Wrecked Martian Handler
This illustration is featured in Book II: The Earth Under the Martians, Chapter VIII: “Dead London,” 1906.
Humans Dissecting Martian War Machines
This illustration was featured in Book II: The Earth Under the Martians, Chaper IX: “Wreckage,” 1906.