Saturn as seen from Titan, first published in 1944, is undoubtedly Bonestell's most famous painting. In fact, it may be the best-known astronomical painting of all time. These photos illustrate some of the stages in the painting's creation: From left to right beginning at the top left: The original oil sketch, laying out the general plan of the final art. Bonestell then constructed a detailed plasticine model of the landscape. In the next three photos, he tried out different lighting on the model, using a rough painting of Saturn on a large sheet of cardboard in the background as a stand-in for the background. Finally, the finished image as it appeared in Life magazine and the cover of The Conquest of Space (1949). For the finished art, Bonestell mounted a large B&W photographic print of the model on illustration board, then painted over it with thin layers of oil paint.
