HARI
Cover illustration for FOUNDATION by Isaac Asimov
Hari Seldon, the benevolent grand architect of the next millennium is seen here against the splendor of Trantor at the height of its power. It is a world completely sheathed in metal: one gigantic city that is the hub and nerve center of the Empire.
Hari Seldon and Trantor inspire and permeate the whole series; they are the books' ultimate symbols, and so the only choice for the first cover. The composition is meant to suggest the stately grandeur of a monumental civilization. As in the Greek and Roman columns of antiquity, the towers represent the tradition, law, and bureaucracy of the thousand- year empire.
Seldon is poised in his wheelchair; the light is coming from low on the horizon—it could be dawn or sunset, or both—signifying the impending doom of Trantor and the birth of the Foundation. On his lapel is a raven, representing the nickname given to Seldon by the citizens of Trantor. He is bound to confinement, but he has the stars and planets in his lap as he looks with confidence to the future he so clearly sees.
It was only later that I noticed another aspect of the symbolism in this painting. I have always had a horrible fascination for the A-bomb and I painted this during the fortieth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima—that's the only explanation I can think of for my subconscious design of the peculiar shapes of the towers.
Additional images from HARI
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Always amazing when our consciousness catches up to what our subconscious already knows. Beautiful juxtaposition of the future revisiting the past.